The Buteyko method is a series of breathing exercises used to control asthma, allergies, sinus, hay fever, eczema, emphysema, Bronchiectasis, C.O.P.D., sleep apnoea, snoring, insomnia, panic attacks, hyperventilation, and stress related problems.
It can be taught to people from age 4 upwards.
Professor Konstantin Buteyko understood that many health problems that afflict us today are caused by bad breathing habits. Sedentary lifestyles, overeating and stress may contribute to bad breathing. Fortunately breathing is something we can learn to control so that we can begin to drive more oxygen into the cells of the body. Professor Buteyko devised a series of breathing exercises to initially safely overcome, for example, an asthma attack, then with time, to control the problem and stop the asthma attacks occurring, by effectively normalising the breathing pattern.
The Buteyko programme is a total approach to health, including the special Buteyko breathing techniques and principles about exercise, nutrition and sleeping that Professor Buteyko considered vital to good health.
The Buteyko programme reduces hyperventilation and restores a more normal breathing pattern. Most people find that their symptoms of asthma, allergies, blocked nose, insomnia, snoring, sleep apnoea, panic and hyperventilation attacks improve substantially.
Buteyko has been used continuously for more than 50 years. Buteyko is a safe and effective programme that addresses the cause of hyperventilation and its associated health risks. It reduces symptoms and puts you back in control of your life.Buteyko is effective for asthma control, alleviating symptoms, reducing the need for medication and improving quality of life. The British Guideline on the Management of Asthma 2008 grants permission for British health professionals to recommend Buteyko, stating that the method “may be considered to help patients control the symptoms of asthma”. The guideline grades clinical research on Buteyko with a ‘B’ classification – indicating that high quality supporting clinical trials are available. British Thoracic Society & Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). British Guideline on the Management of Asthma. Guideline No. 101. Edinburgh:SIGN; 2008. No other complementary therapy has been endorsed by this body for the treatment of asthma.
Buteyko in the USA – the third government body to endorse Buteyko for asthma: Portland, Oregon – The Buteyko Breathing Educators Association, BBEA, praised the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, for its comprehensive review of
22 studies of breathing techniques, which found that Buteyko, a hyperventilationreduction breathing technique achieves “medium to large improvements in asthma symptoms and reductions in reliever medications” AHRQ, 2012.
The Australian Department of Health and Aging in conjunction with the National Asthma Council of Australia in 2005 also opined, after a systematic review of published clinical trials, that Buteyko achieved “a statistically significant and clinically important effect in the treatment of asthma”.
The Buteyko method is not an asthma cure, but it is an effective asthma treatment that gets to the root cause of the problem.
Click here for a summary of the Buteyko Method for GPs. GPs are busy people and may not know of Buteyko or that it has been included in the UK Asthma Guidelines since 2008.
Buteyko is about empowerment:
You can learn to control breathing-related problems naturally with less medication.
NOTE Buteyko is not about throwing away medications. You are strongly encouraged to consult with your GP. You must not reduce your prescribed steroids without medical supervision.
