Really? Breathing Exercises Can Relieve Asthma

Breathing exercises are among the most popular alternative therapies for asthmatics. But do they work?

According to a recent report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the answer depends on the technique. Some appear effective in reducing asthma severity, but there is little evidence to support others.

In the exhaustive, 219-page report, researchers examined 22 randomized studies of breathing techniques. Among the most common are hyperventilation-reduction techniques like the Buteyko method, which instructs asthmatics to breathe shallowly and slowly through the nose when short of breath. The report also looked at yoga breathing exercises and so-called inspiratory-muscle training, which involves exercises and devices that make inhaling more difficult in order to strengthen muscles.

The researchers found the most robust body of evidence supported hyperventilation-reduction breathing techniques, which achieved “medium to large improvements in asthma symptoms and reductions in reliever medication use of approximately 1.5 to 2.5 puffs per day.”

Looking at inspiratory training approaches, the researchers could not find enough credible research to draw any firm conclusions. They did find some evidence for yoga exercises, which typically require deep breaths — usually through the nose — with extended exhalation. But most of the evidence came from studies in India, where yoga exercises are more intensive and frequent than in the United States.

Still, the authors said, “Patients with asthma who are students of yoga and willing to undertake intensive training may find benefits of asthma-targeted practice with a trained yoga practitioner.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

Breathing exercises may help relieve asthma, though the efficacy varies.