Breathing exercises benefit asthmatics: study

	Tweet

Breathing exercises might help control asthma, results of a study hint. In the study, adults with asthma who received breathing training showed improvement in their health and psychological well-being and suffered fewer symptoms.

Dr. M. Thomas, of the University of Aberdeen, UK, and colleagues conducted a randomized study in which 183 asthma patients with impaired health status received either three sessions of physiotherapist-supervised breathing training or nurse-delivered education. Those who learned the breathing exercises were asked to practice them for at least 10 minutes a day.

At 1 month, similar improvements on an asthma-specific quality of life questionnaire were observed in both groups. 

At 6 months, however, significant “between-group” differences were evident. Patients in the breathing training group were less anxious and depressed, had fewer asthma-related symptoms, and scored better on lung function tests.

The breathing exercises, however, did not produce any significant changes in airway inflammation or airway “twitchiness.”

“This study,” the investigators say, “suggests that breathing exercises may potentially have a role in patients with suboptimally controlled mild to moderate asthma, but the use of such techniques must occur with patient education on the ongoing need for anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapy.”

SOURCE: Thorax, December 2008.

RELATED STORIES:
Drug allergy discovery   Kids on cow farms may have fewer allergies   Researchers identify new regulator in allergic diseases   Low serum adiponectin levels predict future risk for asthma in women   Test to improve peanut allergy diagnosis   Anti-IgE Drug Speeds Up Allergy Therapy   Moms Mistakenly Claim Own Food Allergies   Food Allergy Common in Joint Disorder   Molecule That Offers Hope For Future Allergy Treatments Discovered   Adding Proton Pump Inhibitor to Treat Poorly Controlled Asthma in Children Does Not Improve Symptoms   Accelerated infant growth increases risk of future asthma symptoms in children   Getting a Cat Ups Allergy Risk in Adults

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]