In the respiratory community, PR stands for only one thing - pulmonary rehabilitation - a multi-component healthcare intervention, typically delivered over 6–8 weeks to small groups and supervised by respiratory physiotherapists. PR programmes primarily consist of individualised, supervised exercise plans with educational sessions on topics such as disease process, medication and self-management. It is acknowledged that PR is a very effective intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other chronic respiratory conditions that lead to exercise limitation.1,2

In fact, the evidence base for people with COPD is so strong that Cochrane researchers have made the unusual decision …