Breathing exercises for adults with asthma
Open accessAbstract
Background Breathing exercises have been widely used worldwide as a non-pharmacological therapy to treat people with asthma. Breathing exercises aim to control the symptoms of asthma and can be performed as the Papworth Method, the Buteyko breathing technique, yogic breathing, deep diaphragmatic breathing or any other similar intervention that manipulates the breathing pattern. The training of breathing usually focuses on tidal and minute volume and encourages relaxation, exercise at home, the modification of breathing pattern, nasal breathing, holding of breath, lower rib cage and abdominal breathing. Objectives To evaluate the evidence for the efficacy of breathing exercises in the management of people with asthma. Search methods To identify relevant studies we searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and AMED and performed handsearching of respiratory journals and meeting abstracts. We also consulted trials registers and reference lists of included articles. The most recent literature search was on 4 April 2019. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials of breathing exercises in adults with asthma compared with a control group receiving asthma education or, alternatively, with no active control group. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently assessed study quality and extracted data. We used Review Manager 5 software for data analysis based on the random-effects model. We expressed continuous outcomes as mean d…
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BPD does not always present in the same way, a heterogeneity that may further lead to inconsistent assessment.
“Moreover, BPD does not always present in the same way, a heterogeneity that may further lead to inconsistent assessment.”
From Physiotherapy assessment of breathing pattern disorder: a qualitative evaluation (2023) · cites this paper as [12]
In a recent meta-analysis, breathing exercises in adults with asthma improved the Nijmegen Questionnaire with a mean decrease of 1.24 points.
“In the recent meta-analysis that aimed to assess the effect of breathing exercises in adults with asthma,53 the authors also reported an improvement in the Nijmegen Questionnaire, with a mean decrease of 1.24 points.”
From Physiotherapy Education and Breathing Retraining for Patients With Hyperventilation Syndrome: An Observational Study (2026) · cites this paper as [53]
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- Authors
- Santino, T. A., Chaves, G. S., Freitas, D. A., Fregonezi, G. A., & Mendonça, K. M.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR)
- York University (CA)
- Centro Universitário Facex (UNIFACEX); Rua Orlando Silva, 2896 Bairro Capim Macio Natal Rio Grande do Norte Brazil 59080-020
- Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; PhD Program in Physical Therapy; Avenida Senador Salgado Filho, 300 Bairro Lagoa Nova Natal Rio Grande do Norte Brazil 59078-970
- Venue
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-03-25
- Volume
- 2020
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- CD001277-CD001277
- ISSN
- 1361-6137 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-1858
- PMC
- PMC7096190
- OpenAlex
- W1654876333
- Cited by
- 185
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 5
- FWCI
- 2.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Occupational exposure and asthma
- Keywords
- asthma, breathing exercises, non-pharmacological treatment, quality of life, asthma education, Buteyko breathing technique, pranayama, diaphragmatic breathing, adult asthma, asthma symptom control, respiratory muscle training, relaxation training, home-based exercise training
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Asthma, Breathing Exercises, Health Education, Humans, Hyperventilation, Quality of Life, Respiratory Function Tests, Yoga, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Disease Progression
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