Wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath etc are constant companions of people suffering from asthma. So one has to restore to steroids, inhalers, nebulizers and other form of medications to control inflammation of the airways and thus reduce the asthma attacks.
But is there any alternative way to decrease asthma attacks? Are there any methods to strengthen your lungs to relieve asthma symptoms? Let us take a look.
Breathing Techniques and Asthma:
Breathing exercises can cut down the use of inhalers, says an online study published by Thorax. Practiced breathing technique coordinates breathing process in the body preventing over inhalation and shortness of breath. Some of the popular asthma breathing exercises used to relive asthma attacks are Buteyko Breathing Technique and Pranayama.
Buteyko Method:
Konstantin Buteyko, a Russian doctor invented this method. The theory behind this technique is that when an asthma patient breathes deeply and quickly during an attack, it causes low carbon dioxide in his body.
This hyperventilation can tighten bronchial muscles, or cause the airways to constrict in order to conserve carbon dioxide. This also causes mucus collection in airways; all typical symptoms of asthma.
So the Buteyko Method teaches exercises to help you breathe shallowly, and to correct hyperventilation. Exercises include holding your breath for a certain time, breathing out fully, and nose breathing at all times in order to breathe correctly.
Important tip: The idea is that during asthma attacks take slow, shallow breaths to conserve the levels of carbon dioxide. This can reduce the use of asthma medications.
