Improving asthma symptoms with yoga

Yoga is a discipline that produces numerous beneficial effects on the physique and body and has been shown to be very useful against asthma symptoms, particularly when combined with breathing techniques andaerobic activity. In this regard, a study by researchers at a Chinese university found, in fact, that it markedly improves lung function and breathing in asthma sufferers, greatly alleviating symptoms.

What is asthma and what are the symptoms

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases; in fact, there are millions of people with asthma worldwide, particularly higher in childhood. In Italy there are about three million asthma patients with 5% developing the disease in a severe form. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that causes difficulty breathing, coughing, and you can even hear the classic whistling sound even during normal breathing. It can worsen the moment you expose yourself to environmental pollutants and cigarette smoke, but it can also appear during respiratory infections, such as the common winter cold or flu. Unfortunately, it is a chronic condition that one has to live with, controlling the symptoms with the use of medication.

Yoga is helpful against asthma symptoms

Sports activity is very important in the management of the disease, particularly aerobic work, because it improves the respiratory function of sufferers by alleviating their symptoms.

Studies regarding asthma symptoms with yoga

A study published in the journal Annals of Medicine and conducted at Henan Normal University in China (Xing., et al. (2023) Effect of exercise intervention on lung function in asthmatic adults: a network meta-analysis. Annals of Medicine) showed that yoga and all breathing control techniques, along with aerobic exercise training, can significantly improve lung function in asthmatic patients. The researchers’ study analyzed and conducted a meta-analysis of 28 research papers on this type of topic. The data that were analyzed were on 2,155 asthma patients and the effects of respiratory training, aerobic training, relaxation training, yoga and breathing combined with aerobic training that are produced on their disease. The various interventions regarding yoga and how to improve asthma symptoms with yoga saw greater effectiveness in improving lung function measurements than the conventional rehabilitation control group.