Yoga and breathing control practices, in combination with aerobic training, are particularly key exercises for asthmatic people seeking to improve their lung function, a new peer-reviewed study suggests.
The research which is published in the journal Annals of Medicine highlights the importance of integrating appropriate exercise training into asthma management plans.
The current study conducting a network meta-analysis, which enables a simultaneous comparison of results from multiple treatments in a single analysis, to compare the effects of multiple types of exercise training on lung function in adults with asthma.
The analysis included a total of 28 RCTs involving 2,155 people with asthma and examined the effects of breathing training, aerobic training, relaxation training, yoga training, and breathing combined with aerobic training, on lung function.
All five types of exercise interventions demonstrated greater effectiveness in improving lung function measurements compared to the conventional rehabilitation control group. Specifically, the study found:
- Breathing training, aerobic training, relaxation training, yoga training, and breathing combined with aerobic training, led to improvements in the levels of Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1) levels and Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF).
- Aerobic training, breathing training, yoga training and breathing combined with aerobic training, improved the level of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC).
- Breathing training, aerobic training and yoga training improved the FEV1/FVC ratio.
Furthermore, the researchers applied a statistical technique to rank the effects of different exercise treatments against each other. Relaxation training showed the most significant effect on improving FEV1 levels, breathing combined with aerobic exercise had the most significant effect on improving FVC levels, and yoga training had the most significant effect on improving PEF levels.
