Study Yoga can help asthmatics breathe freely again

Yoga exercises improve the quality of life of people with asthma
Asthmatics suffer from episodic respiratory distress due to a narrowing of the airways. Those affected often struggle with the severe effects of the disease. Scientists have now discovered that yoga can have a positive effect on the symptoms and quality of life in patients with asthma. Thus, asthmatics may want to think about whether or not to start doing yoga.

Do you suffer from asthma? Then there might be a way to make breathing easier in the future. Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong found in an investigation that yoga can help reduce the symptoms of asthma. The physicians published the results of their study in the "Cochrane Library".

Scientists found that yoga could help asthmatics improve their quality of life. Through yoga exercises affected people can relieve the symptoms of the disease. (Image: WavebreakmediaMicro / fotolia.com)

Yoga exercises can relieve the symptoms of asthma
Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract in which sufferers suffer from persistent hypersensitivity. About five percent of adults and seven to ten percent of children suffer from asthma, the experts explain. Yoga exercises can lead to improvements in quality of life and symptoms, says lead author Dr. Zuyao Yang from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. For those affected, it is possible to reduce their discomfort by doing yoga regularly. However, the researchers also warned that more high-quality studies with more participants were needed to make clear conclusions about the effects of yoga.

New study analyzes the results of fifteen older studies
The physicians from the Chinese University of Hong Kong analyzed the results of fifteen randomized controlled trials. At this 1048 men and women participated. Most of the studies were conducted in India, Europe and the US. The majority of participants suffered from mild asthma, researchers say. Six of the studies looked exclusively at how our breathing changes during yoga exercises. The other studies dealt with breathing, posture and meditation, the scientists explain. Most participants continued to take their usual asthma medication during the study.

Can yoga replace asthma medications?
It is still unclear whether yoga has a uniform effect on lung function. We do not yet know if yoga can prevent those affected from taking medicines for their asthma. Zuyao Yang. The effects on the use of drugs and side effects are still to be assessed as uncertain, adds the physician. It has not been known yet whether yoga can have negative effects on people with asthma. However, the results suggest that through yoga exercises, the quality of life of patients with asthma can be slightly improved. In addition, the symptoms of the disease seem to be diminishing, adds dr. Zuyao Yang added. (As)