ACBT

• Active Cycle of Breathing Techniques:

  • Specific set of breathing exercises to remove excess bronchial secretions
  • 3 key phases are
  • breathing control (relaxed tidal breathing)
  • lower thoracic expansion exercises (active secretion mobilisation)
  • forced expiration technique (FET) (active secretion clearance)
• Clinical Indications:

  • ACBT widely used in management of any spontaneously breathing patient with excess bronchial secretions
  • Component parts of ACBT can be manipulated to meet individual patient requirements
  • ACBT can be combined with other physiotherapeutic techniques to meet individual patients needs
• How can you modify the ACBT?

  • For a breathless patient? - more breathing control, less thoracic expansion exercises
  • For a post-op surgical patient? - inspiratory hold and sniff
  • A patient with bronchospasm? - gentle huff, low lung volume huffs with breathing control in between
• for pts with reduced lung volumes, you'd focus on thoracic expansion exercises and adding a sniff