Combination of diaphragmatic breathing with therapeutic walking exercise to increase peak expiratory flow rate in asthma patients

Objective:This study aimed to determine the effect of combined diaphragmatic breathing and therapeutic walking exercise on peak expiratory flow in asthma patients.Methods:The research design used a quasi-experiment nonequivalent pretest and posttest design.The research sample contained 38 respondents divided into intervention and control groups,selected by simple random sampling.The control group received standard drug therapy,while the intervention group received standard drug therapy and a combination of diaphragmatic breathing and therapeutic walking exercise for 2 weeks.This exercise was carried out in the morning,6 times a week,with 5 diaphragmatic breathing and exhalations per exercise.After that,a 1-min break was followed by a therapeutic walking exercise of 5–15 min,with an increased duration.Both groups measured the peak expiratory flow before and after the intervention using a peak flow meter.The data analysis used central tendency and t-test.Results:The results showed that the mean peak expiratory flow in the intervention group was 306.84,while in the control group,it was 232.63,with the value of the t-test being-14.17(P<0.0001).Conclusions:Diaphragmatic breathing and therapeutic walking exercise significantly increased the peak expiratory flow in asthma patients.

Effect of breathing and Daoyin exercises on the quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective： To observe the effect of breathing and Daoyin exercises on the quality of life in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD） due to deficiency of the lung and kidney（grade II-III）.Methods： A total of 60 eligible cases were randomly allocated into a treatment group（n=30） and a control group（n=30） by random number table. Cases in the control group received routine Western medical treatment, whereas cases in the treatment group conducted breathing and Daoyin exercises in addition to routine Western medical treatment. Patients in both groups were treated for a total of 3 months. Then the observation was made on changes in pulmonary ventilation function, major clinical symptoms, modified Medical Research Council scale（m MRC）, distance in 6-minute walk test（6-MWT）, COPD assessment test（CAT） and efficacy satisfaction questionnaire for COPD（ESQ-COPD） before and after treatment. Results： After treatment, the total effective rate was 80.0% in the treatment group, versus 66.7% in the control group, showing a statistical difference（P〈0.05）. Patients in the treatment group obtained more significant improvement in coughing, sputum production, dyspnea and shortness of breath than those in the control group（P〈0.05）. Patients in the treatment group obtained more significant elevation in the forced expiratory volume in 1 second percentage of predicted value（FEV1%） and peak expiratory flow rate（PEF%） than those in the control group（P〈0.05）. Patients in the treatment group obtained lower m MRC score than those in the control group（P〈0.05）. Patients in the treatment group obtained longer 6-MWT distance than those in the control group（P〈0.05）. Patients in the treatment group obtained lower CAT score（P〈0.01） and higher ESQ-COPD score（P〈0.05） than those in the control group. Conclusion： Breathing and Daoyin exercises combined with routine Western medical treatment are effective for stable COPD（grade II-III） due to deficiency of the lung and kidney and can improve the patients＇ quality of life.

Clinical study of optimizing acupoint combining in treatment of bronchial asthma with acupoint application

Objective:To observe the therapeutic efficacy of acupoint application at different groups of acupoints in treating bronchial asthma in remission stage.Methods:A total of 120 patients with bronchial asthma in remission stage were recruited and divided by the random number table method into acupoint application group 1,acupoint application group 2 and acupoint application group 3,with 40 cases in each group.In all the three groups,Tiantu(CV 22),Dazhui(GV 14)and Feishu(BL 13)were selected,with Dingchuan(EX-B 1)added in acupoint application group 1,Shenshu(BL 23)added in acupoint application group 2,and Gaohuang(BL 43)added in acupoint application group 3.Before intervention,one month and 3 months after intervention,clinical symptoms,peak expiratory flow(PEF)and forced expiratory volume in 1 second percentage of predicted value(FEV1%)of the three groups were observed,and their clinical efficacies were evaluated.Results:Comparing the therapeutic efficacy regarding traditional Chinese medicine symptoms and signs,after 1-month treatment,the total effective rate was 87.5%in acupoint application group 1,versus 62.5%in acupoint application group 2 and 55.0%in acupoint application group 3,and the between-group differences were statistically significant.After 3-month treatment,the total effective rate was 95.0%in acupoint application group 1,versus 70.0%in acupoint application group 2 and 65.0%in acupoint application group 3,and the between-group differences were statistically significant.After intervention,the three groups all showed significant improvements in pulmonary function with statistical significance;among the three groups,the improvement in acupoint application group 1 was more significant than that in the other two groups.Conclusion:Tiantu(CV 22),Dazhui(GV 14)and Feishu(BL 13)as basic prescription plus Dingchuan(EX-B 1)can improve symptoms of bronchial asthma in remission stage,and it works better in improving pulmonary function than the basic prescription plus Shenshu(BL 23)or Gaohuang(BL 43).

Influence of acupuncture on pulmonary function of patients with asthma： a review

Asthma is a common disease with recurrent onset which severely affects patients＇ quality of life. Acupuncture can improve pulmonary functions in asthma patients and thus treat this disorder. To summarize the status of acupuncture treatment for asthma, we have collected clinical literatures published in the recent 20 years and analyzed the influence of acupuncture on pulmonary functions in asthma patients from the aspects of frequently used points, needling techniques, manipulation and mechanisms to provide references for treating asthma with acupuncture.