Effect of pranayama breathing technique on asthma control, pulmonary function, and quality of life: A single-blind, randomized, controlled trial

Chronic neck myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a common disorder seen in clinics. There is no gold standard method to treat myofascial pain. We investigated the effects of acupuncture on patients with chronic neck MPS by a single-blind randomized controlled trial. A total of 35 patients were randomly allocated to an acupuncture group (AG) or a sham acupuncture group (SG). Each subject received acupuncture treatment twice per week for three consecutive weeks. The primary outcome measure was quality of life as assessed with Short Form-36, and secondary outcome measures were neck range of motion (ROM), motion-related pain, and Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), as determined by a blinded investigator. The clinical assessments were made before treatment (BT) and after six acupuncture treatments (AT), as well as four weeks (F1) and 12 weeks (F2) after the end of the treatment. A total of 34 patients completed the trial. The results indicated that there is no significant difference in the ROM, motion-related pain, and SF-MPQ scores between AG and SG at AT, F1 and F2 (all p > 0.05). However, AG has greater improvement in physical functioning and role emotional of Short Form-36 quality of life at F2. The results indicate that acupuncture may be used to improve the quality of life in patients with chronic neck MPS.

Download Full-text

Asthma in Adolescents: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of an Asthma Program for Adolescents and Young Adults with Severe Asthma

Canadian Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1155/2002/106262 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 253-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Robert L Cowie ◽

Margot F Underwood ◽

Cinde B Little ◽

Ian Mitchell ◽

Sheldon Spier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Emergency Department ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Asthma Control ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Disease Specific

BACKGROUND: Asthma is common and is often poorly controlled in adolescent subjects.OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of an age-specific asthma program on asthma control, particularly on exacerbations of asthma requiring emergency department treatment, and on the quality of life of adolescents with asthma.METHODS: The present randomized, controlled trial included patients who were 15 to 20 years of age and had visited emergency departments for management of their asthma. The interventional group attended an age-specific asthma program that included assessment, education and management by a team of asthma educators, respiratory therapists and respiratory physicians. In the control group, spirometry was performed, and the patients continued to receive usual care from their regular physicians. The outcomes were assessed by a questionnaire six months after entry into the study.RESULTS: Ninety-three subjects entered the study and were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Of these, only 62 patients were available for review after six months. Subjects in both the control and the intervention groups showed a marked improvement in their level of asthma control, reflected primarily by a 73% reduction in the rate of emergency department attendance for asthma. Other indexes of disease control, including disease-specific quality of life, as assessed by questionnaires, were improved. There was, however, no discernible difference between the subjects in the two groups, with the exception of an improvement in favour of the intervention group in the symptom (actual difference 0.7, P=0.048) and emotional (actual difference 0.8, P=0.028) domains of the asthma quality of life questionnaire. The overall quality of life score favoured the intervention group by a clinically relevant difference of 0.6, but this difference did not reach statistical significance (P=0.06).CONCLUSIONS: Although all subjects demonstrated a significant improvement in asthma control and quality of life, the improvement attributable to this intervention was limited to two domains in disease-specific quality of life.

Download Full-text