Effect of yoga breathing exercises (pranayama) on airway reactivity in subjects with asthma

Singh, Virendra; Wisniewski, A; Britton, John; Tattersfield, AE

doi:10.1016/0140-6736(90)91254-8

Cited by 167 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Though originally designed as a way to quiet the mind, these breathing techniques have also shown health benefits, especially in the area of mind-body illness. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Studies have suggested that pranayama practices create a relaxed state by enhancing parasympathetic tone. 11,13,16 Several studies have investigated the efficacy of a multimodality yoga intervention, which includes breathing, postures, and/or meditation, in a population of patients with cancer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yoga Breathing for Cancer Chemotherapy–Associated Symptoms and Quality of Life: Results of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Dhruva

Miaskowski

Abrams

et al. 2012

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

122

111

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Background: Many debilitating symptoms arise from cancer and its treatment that are often unrelieved by established methods. Pranayama, a series of yogic breathing techniques, may improve cancer-related symptoms and quality of life, but it has not been studied for this purpose. Objectives: A pilot study was performed to evaluate feasibility and to test the effects of pranayama on cancerassociated symptoms and quality of life. Design: This was a randomized controlled clinical trial comparing pranayama to usual care. Setting: The study was conducted at a university medical center. Subjects: Patients receiving cancer chemotherapy were randomized to receive pranayama immediately or after a waiting period (control group). Interventions: The pranayama intervention consisted of four breathing techniques taught in weekly classes and practiced at home. The treatment group received pranayama during two consecutive cycles of chemotherapy. The control group received usual care during their first cycle, and received pranayama during their second cycle of chemotherapy. Outcome measures: Feasibility, cancer-associated symptoms (fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, stress), and quality of life were the outcomes. Results: Class attendance was nearly 100% in both groups. Sixteen (16) participants were included in the final intent-to-treat analyses. The repeated-measures analyses demonstrated that any increase in pranayama dose, with dose measured in the number of hours practiced in class or at home, resulted in improved symptom and qualityof-life scores. Several of these associations-sleep disturbance ( p = 0.04), anxiety ( p = 0.04), and mental quality of life ( p = 0.05)-reached or approached statistical significance. Conclusions: Yoga breathing was a feasible intervention among patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy. Pranayama may improve sleep disturbance, anxiety, and mental quality of life. A dose-response relationship was found between pranayama use and improvements in chemotherapy-associated symptoms and quality of life. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger study.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yoga Breathing for Cancer Chemotherapy–Associated Symptoms and Quality of Life: Results of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Dhruva

Miaskowski

Abrams

et al. 2012

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

122

111

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“…It imposes slowing of breathing and a 1:2 inspiration:expiration duration. Treatment B was similar The same first author with colleagues from Nottingham, UK performed a similar study on 18 patients with mild drug-controlled asthma [3]. This paper does provide sufficient methodological detail.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Breathing techniques--adjunctive treatment modalities for asthma? A systematic review

Ernst¹

2000

Eur Respir J

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Breathing techniques are used by a large proportion of asthma sufferers. This systematic review was aimed at determining whether or not these interventions are effective.Four independent literature searches identified six randomized controlled trials. A recent survey on a large (n=3,837) sample of asthma sufferers carried out by the National Asthma Campaign, UK showed that 30% of respondents were using breathing techniques to relieve their symptoms [1]. This begs the question as to how efficacious these techniques are. The present communication is an attempt to make a step towards answering this question. MethodsComputerized literature searches were performed in order to identify all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the subject. Databases including Medline, Embase, CISCOM (Centralized Information Service for Complex Medicine) and the Cochrane Library (all from their respective institution) were searched to December1996. The search terms used were asthma, breathing techniques/exercise, yoga, Buteyko and physiotherapy. In addition, several experts in the field were asked to contribute published and unpublished material on this topic. Furthermore, the author's own (extensive) files were scanned. The bibliographies of the studies thus retrieved were searched for further trials. There were no restrictions according to language of publication. RCTs were included if performed on human patients with asthma. Data were extracted in a predefined standard fashion (table 1). Initially a meta-analytical approach was anticipated; this plan, however, had to be abandoned when the heterogeneity of the data became apparent.

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“…[14,15] Furthermore, studies show the effect of yoga on ventilatory responses, respiratory endurance, and muscle strength have been well documented. [16,17] Bera et al have studied recovery from stress by yogic relaxation posture in their work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Bhastrika pranayama on pulmonary functions of elderly subjects

Bamne¹

2017

Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol

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Background: In old age, the expansion of lungs is restricted as the elastic tissue in the lungs is being replaced by fibrous tissue and a number of alveoli break down leading to emphysema, and also respiratory muscles become weak. Regular practice of pranayama should produce a positive effect on the lungs by increasing the pulmonary capacity and thereby improving the lung functions. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the pulmonary function in volunteers after 6 weeks training in Bhastrika pranayama. Material and Methods: This study was carried out on 40 healthy male volunteers in the age group between 60 and 70 years. The pulmonary function tests (PFT) were recorded with the RMS-Helios 702 spirometer. The parameters of PFT taken into account were forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, peak expiratory flow rate. The PFT were compared before starting Bhastrika pranayama and after completing 6 weeks regular practice of Bhastrika pranayama. The paired and unpaired t-test were used at appropriate places as a statistical test. The value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: A significant increase in pulmonary functions were observed after the 6 weeks practice of Bhastrika pranayama. Conclusion: Regular practice of Bhastrika pranayama may tend to improve the strength in the respiratory musculature which leads to an improvement in the lung functions in them. Moreover, hence better the lung function in old age better the quality of life.

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Effect of yoga breathing exercises (pranayama) on airway reactivity in subjects with asthma

Cited by 167 publications

References 20 publications

Yoga Breathing for Cancer Chemotherapy–Associated Symptoms and Quality of Life: Results of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Yoga Breathing for Cancer Chemotherapy–Associated Symptoms and Quality of Life: Results of a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Breathing techniques--adjunctive treatment modalities for asthma? A systematic review

Effect of Bhastrika pranayama on pulmonary functions of elderly subjects

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