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Doctors
Gasp at Buteyko Success
Australian Doctor - April 7, 1995
BUTEYKO
breathing hypoventilation exercises in patients with asthma reduced
beta agonist use by 90% and improved symptoms, according to preliminary
results of a randomised controlled trial in Brisbane.
However,
there were no changes in major physiological parameters such as
peak flow rate or FEV1 in people using Buteyko breathing. The study
was reported at a meeting of the Thoracic Society of Australia and
New Zealand in Hobart last week by Dr Simon Bowler, a respiratory
physician at Mater Hospital in Brisbane.
Dr Bowler
said there were no obvious explanations for the apparent short term
benefits of Buteyko breathing,
"We
were surprised at the results, as we didn't expect any significant
changes" he told Australian Doctor.
Proponents
of the technique claimed that hypoventilation and the subsequent
increase in carbon dioxide levels could relieve the symptoms of
bronchospasm and favourably affect the long-term course of asthma.
The study was prompted by publicity about Buteyko breathing and
the number of inquiries to asthma foundations and requests for advice
from other health professionals it had generated. The study was
funded by the Australian Association of Asthma Foundations. Forty
patients with well-documented asthma and significant daily use of
bronchodilators were recruited and randomised to a Buteyko or control
group - 39 remained in the study.
The Buteyko
group received classes from a Buteyko practitioner for 90 minutes
a day for seven days and the classes included direct encouragement
to minimise beta agonist use. The control patients received a similar
regimen of physiotherapy classes which included standard asthma
education, breathing exercises (excluding any hypoventilation) and
relaxation techniques. - Both groups were carefully instructed to
use bronchodilators only as required and not on a routine basis.
"We
would expect education to influence the patients' asthma management,
but wouldn't normally expect the other techniques to have any major
effect on medication use or respiratory function," Dr. Bowler
said.
"After
six weeks there was a 90% reduction in beta agonist use in the Buteyko
group compared to only a 5% reduction in the control group".
There
was also a significant difference in quality of life and improvement
in symptom score in the Buteyko group. "These changes occurred
in the absence of any improvement in airflow", Dr. Bowler said.
"In
this study, there appears to be some short-term benefit from Buteyko
techniques in terms of reduced beta agonist use, without obvious
cost in terms of worsening symptoms cores,"
"The
trial continued for another six weeks to investigate the effect
of reducing inhaled corticosteroid use but the data are yet to be
analysed."
- Tony
James
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