Every treatment requires rigorous scientific evaluation.
Department of Examination
How to breathe? Deep or not? Often or rarely? Breathing for a person with asthma and other lung diseases is a function of the body that is constantly, consciously or unconsciously, under constant control. It is clear that all sorts of techniques aimed at forcing a change in breathing attract special attention if they are declared a medical procedure.
The method of Konstantin Buteyko was proposed in 1952. Its essence is that a person is forced to breathe “superficially,” that is, not deeply. At the same time, one proceeds from the assumption that many diseases (and not just asthma) occur because the lungs are excessively ventilated (hyperventilated, as doctors say) and too much oxygen circulates in the blood. Herein this, according to the supporters of the theory, there is the main harm. But when breathing is restricted, carbon dioxide accumulates in the blood, which, according to the authors of the method, is useful, including for those who suffer from bronchial asthma. That’s the whole theory, if we discard pseudoscientific discussions about the subtle mechanisms of the method. Why pseudoscientific? Because serious studies of the effects of this method of treatment have not been conducted.
There is no prophet in his own country! No – and do not. Let us turn to the British journal Asthma News, just like ours, intended for a wide audience. Since the Buteyko method has been promoted in England for several years, the corrosive inhabitants of foggy Albion have decided to see how it works. Two groups of patients were compared. One group received regular breathing exercises conducted by a hospital physiotherapist, and the other received Buteyko treatment. There was no difference between the groups in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood! But this, according to Buteyko, is the main therapeutic mechanism in his method.
This is what Dr. Martin Partridge, chief medical consultant for the National Asthma Campaign * in the UK says: “I will be the first to welcome the informal medicine method that can really help the patient. But I have doubts about Buteyko’s theory. It combines hyperventilation and asthma, which are very different conditions. ” Another view: “We need to do a lot more research before we recommend the method in normal practice,” says Dr. Simon Bowler, a general practitioner at the Brisbane Hospital.
“But we see the effect!” – exclaim Buteyko adherents – those whom this technique really helped.
We are not going to be like stubborn people who say “white” in black. To understand so to understand. The initial idea of the Buteyko method: the lungs of people suffering from bronchial asthma are hyperventilated; as a result, the carbon dioxide content in the blood drops, and the bronchi respond to this by narrowing. The basis of the method is breathing restriction, in which the level of carbon dioxide in the blood increases. And now recall that from the beginning of the 4th century BC, yoga gymnastics with its famous breath of pranayama became known. By limiting and calming the breath (pranayama) you can control your emotions, achieve relaxation, feel a sense of satisfaction and calm. In this case, it is possible to control the symptoms of the disease, including asthma.
So a long time ago, when people had never heard about the sophisticated words “hyperventilation” and “carbon dioxide”, it was suggested to breathe in a special way.
And the explanation of the effect of the few cases of improvement in both yoga and the Buteyko method is probably very far from carbon dioxide. Apparently, the most sensitive people with the help of special breathing gradually acquire the ability to control their body, and therefore their illness. Indeed, this is the goal of yoga, and the breath of pranayama is one of the methods to achieve this ability, which is not given to everyone. Perhaps that is why the number of the floor who completed a true relief from the Buteyko method (and in fact – from breathing pranayama) is small. It is worth noting that, unlike the methodology proposed by our compatriot, yoga is a whole philosophy of spiritual and physical self-improvement, cultivated for centuries in the East.
Readers of the journal Asthma and Allergy also know our position. It is this: a man is the blacksmith of his health. Therefore, we can only welcome the search for the new and unknown. We will be happy if this brings better health. However, there is one danger. We have repeatedly seen cases of severe exacerbations in people who tried to apply unconventional methods of treatment to themselves. The main reason was that they refused drug therapy on the urgent advice of healers. This should never be done! The chance is too great that treatment will not help, and then a break in taking medications will bring grave consequences.
In conclusion – another evidence from the journal “Asthma News”. In 1999, the National Asthma Campaign allocated £ 50,000 for research in informal medicine. This money was used to research various breathing techniques.
“Unfortunately, at present we cannot give any information about these studies,” says Dr. Martin Partridge, “the testers were asked not to report where the work is done and what methods are being investigated. This is required so that patients who are involved in the study of this problem do not know which treatment they are receiving – this is necessary for reliable results. Once the study is completed, readers of Asthma News will be the first to find out about its results. ”