Just breathe - Buteyko Method

"When a person gets short of breath, intuitively the right thing to do seems to be to inhale deeply," says Margalit Noam. "But amazingly, if asthma patients are asked whether a deep breath helped them during an attack, the answer is unequivocally no. This is because people with breathing problems do not suffer from a lack of air, but from too much ventilation. They inhale too much air and the body has a hard time coping with that."

To anyone who's ever witnessed an asthmatic struggling to get air into his lung, this approach sounds contrary to logic. However Noam, a therapist who treats asthma using the Buteyko method, explains, "When you inhale too much, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the body dwindles and not enough oxygen reaches the tissues. Inhaling more air in order to provide more oxygen to the tissues not only does not help, it actually worsens the situation."


Professor Konstantin Buteyko, a Ukrainian doctor, derived this understanding from the findings of the physiologist Christian Bohr in the early 20th century. Bohr found that a decline in carbon dioxide levels in the body reduces the blood's ability to release oxygen to tissues and vice versa. Based on this phenomenon, known as the Bohr effect, Buteyko concluded that while in a state of shortness of breath, the body will benefit more from a reduction in the volume of air that enters the body. In the mid-20th century, Buteyko developed a unique method for treating patients suffering from asthma and other breathing passage problems, and patients of this method learn to slow the pace of their breathing.


Restoring balance

A shortage of oxygen is not the only problem related to over-breathing. "When there is too much air, the acidity level of the body drops [the PH level increases] and the body is not balanced," adds Noam. "In order to restore its acidity level, the body begins to secrete more lactic acid. This does not improve the situation and only causes fatigue. The breathing system enables the balancing of the acidity level in the body much more quickly than the body's other systems."

"For the sake of comparison," he continues, "the metabolism, the digestive system and kidney tract require several hours and sometimes even several days to restore the body's acidity levels to normal levels, whereas the breathing system can do so in minutes. Slowing the pace of breathing and sometimes even a brief halt in breathing reverses the process, and with a normal breathing pace the body returns to its desired acidity levels."

The treatment is sought primarily by asthmatics, but also helps people with allergies, anoxia, snoring, chronic runny noses, stuffed noses and sinusitis. The treatment is also sought by those with a tendency to suffer from anxiety and unease, high blood pressure and migraines. The direct connection between breathing and the improved conditions is explained by the following: after the breathing is relaxed, oxygen is released to the tissues, the blood vessels expand, pressure from them decreases and pain is reduced.


Learning to relax

Noam's patients attend six two-hour sessions, during which they improve their awareness of breathing difficulties, learn to identify situations where they over-breathe and learn how to relax the pace of breathing.

The Buteyko method is one of the most effective ways of treating asthma patients. In studies conducted in Canada and Australia, patients report a substantial reduction in the use of extenders, inhalers and inhalation machines (up to 96 percent after just 12 weeks) and in asthma prevention medications (49 percent). The reduction in the use of inhalers and medications is of greater significance for asthmatics who have become used to living alongside the inhaler and in many cases become anxious if they can't remember where they put it. Noam also reports improvements for those suffering from sleep disturbances such as apnea or snoring.

In Russia, the method is widespread and has been studied for over 50 years. In the West it is also starting to gain institutional recognition. In Australia, medical insurance covers some of the expenses of attending a Buteyko workshop, given the knowledge that it will save on other insurance costs. In England, a family doctor is authorized to recommend the method for treating breathing problems.

Dr. Avner Goren, a pediatrician and allergy, clinical immunology and asthma expert, as well as the director of the Maccabi health maintenance organization branch in Ramat Hasharon, says he frequently recommends the treatment, based on "the research results that indicate a substantial reduction in the use of medications and also because of the fact that I know for certain that they do not interfere in any stage of the patient's drug treatment."


P.S. Boost your asthma immunity by eating Vitamin C and Vitamin D foods and fruits.



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