Breathing Exercises for Asthma

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02151422

Enrollment

Registered

2014-05-30

Start date

2013-11-30

Completion date

2015-09-30

Last updated

2016-06-30

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Asthma

Keywords

Adults, age 18-65, physician-diagnosed, persistent asthma

Brief summary

Despite the advances in pharmacological therapy for asthma, there has been an increasing worldwide interest in alternative therapies for asthma. Treatments and therapies such as yoga, acupuncture, homeopathy, hypnosis and Buteyko and other breathing techniques have been used as complementary therapies however little evidence exists behind such practices. Data from systemic reviews and randomized control trials provide evidence of benefit although additional confirmation is still needed. Among the most common techniques are the Buteyko breathing exercises that aim to reduce minute ventilation by instruct asthmatics patients to breathe shallowly and slowly through the nose. The second common technique is the Pranayama, or yoga breathing exercises which emphasizes deep respirations and exhalation prolongation. Our goal is to assess the effectiveness of breathing exercises as a complementary therapy for asthma.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALBreathing exercise

Patients will be thought 3 different exercises included yoga pranayama, diaphragmatic breathing and pursed lip breathing. Patients will be asked to repeat these exercises at least twice daily for a one month period. Also patients will be thought 4 different exercises which they could use in the event of an asthma exacerbation. Teaching will be supplemented by a breathing exercise brochure and patients will be asked to demonstrate proper technique at initial visit and at the return visit.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Adults age 18-65 of either sex, with a physician-diagnosed history of persistent asthma. * Access to internet

Exclusion criteria

* Subjects with history of COPD or any other lung disease, pregnant or lactating women, no access to internet and patients who cannot communicate in English.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Improvement of quality of life of asthmatic patients	equal or greater than 30 days

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026