The Effect of Physiotherapy-Based Breathing Retraining on Asthma Control

Abstract

Breathing retraining resulted in improvement not only in asthma control but in physiological indices across time as well. Further studies are needed to confirm the benefits of this training in order to help patients with stable asthma achieve the control of their disease.

The effectiveness of physiotherapy in patients with asthma: A systematic review of the literature

“…All studies which examined anxiety and/or depression 18,20,21 found a significant difference between the groups, in favor of breathing exercises. Same is true for 17,18,22 that examined this outcome found a significant decrease, one study 22 only within the training group. In three studies, 17,18,20 the patients were asked to complete the Nijmegen hyperventilation questionnaire (NQ).…”

“…Same is true for 17,18,22 that examined this outcome found a significant decrease, one study 22 only within the training group. In three studies, 17,18,20 the patients were asked to complete the Nijmegen hyperventilation questionnaire (NQ). Two studies 18,20 found a significant decrease in the NQ score.…”

“…Of these nine studies, the most frequently studied outcome is disease specific quality of life: five trials 16e20 determined this outcome. Three of these studies 17,18,20 found a significant improvement compared to the control group. The two studies 16,19 without significant improvement used control groups including other forms of breathing exercises.…”

“…Asthma control was examined in five studies. 16,17,19,20,22 Only two studies 17,22 found significant improvement. One of them 22 found significant improvement within the training group, in the other study 17 the significant difference between the groups disappeared after 3 months.…”

“…All nine trials described one or more lung function measurements. FEV 1 was measured in six studies, 16,17,19,20,22,23 FVC in three studies, 19,22,23 and PEF(R) in four studies. 14,21e23 Remarkably, almost no significant differences were found in lung function measurements.…”