ABSTRACT
Pulmonary rehabilitation has a relatively short history. Although some clinicians have recognized its effectiveness since the 1960s and set up programs, the scientific evidence behind the rationale and effectiveness of this comprehensive intervention did not appear until the 1990s. Two (mistaken) ideas probably led to the inertia behind its late acceptance by the general medical community:
1. Pulmonary rehabilitation has no direct measureable effect on lung function; therefore, it cannot help respiratory patients.
