The nurse is giving a client with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) information related to the positions used to breathe more easily. The nurse teaches the client to assume which position?

Proper positioning can decrease episodes of dyspnea in a client with COPD. Appropriate positions include sitting upright while leaning on an overbed table, sitting upright in a chair with the arms resting on the knees, and leaning against a wall while standing. Sitting bolt upright with arms folded across the chest restricts the movement of the anterior and posterior walls of the lung, and side-lying with the head of bed raised to a 45-degree position restricts the expansion of the lateral wall of the lung. Option 3 restricts posterior lung expansion.