Buteyko Breathing Techniques in Asthma
There have been many clinical trails around the world which involved asthma sufferers who had been taught the Buteyko Breathing Method.
The first clinical trial in Australia was conducted in Brisbane, Queensland at the Mater Hospital from January to April 1995. There were 2 control groups aged from 12 to 70 years. The first group relied on their usual asthma medication and the other group was taught the Buteyko Breathing Method.
The results were published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Those results showed that after 12 weeks those in the control group taught the Buteyko Breathing Method experienced:
- average 96% reduction in their use of reliever (bronchodilator) medication
- average 49% reduction in their use of preventer (steroid) medication
- average 71% reduction in their asthma symptoms
There was no material change to the symptoms experienced by those in the asthma group.
It was concluded that those practising the Buteyko Breathing Method reduced hyperventilation and their use of reliever medication. Further there was a trend toward reduced inhaled steroid use and a better quality of life was observed in those practising the Buteyko Breathing Method.