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Buteyko UK trial funded by National Asthma Campaign (now Asthma UK)
Lifesource taught Buteyko breathing exercises in the first UK clinical trial to investigate the efficacy of Buteyko and yogic pranayama breathing as asthma treatments.
Science in its ideal form would remain open to reality, no matter what it would prefer that reality to be. However, the researchers, led by Professor Anne Tattersfield at the University of Nottingham's Division of Respiratory Medicine at the City Hospital, reported the Buteyko group’s reduction in bronchodilators in a way that was difficult to interpret. The reduction in asthma reliever medication was stated as being an average of two puffs per day. But if you look carefully through the whole article you will eventually find that the patients started with an average of two puffs per day; that is a 100% reduction in bronchodilators! There was no reduction in bronchodilators in the pranayamic or placebo groups.
The paper, published in Thorax, also includes the great improvement in asthma symptom scores and the reduction in inhaled corticosteroid use achieved by the Buteyko group. Out of twenty Buteyko participants involved in the steroid reduction phase of the study (attempted after six months) eight patients reduced inhaled steroid dose by 75-100% and three by 25-50%. Whilst this is almost double the improvement of the other two groups, the result is described as “non-significant.”
Indeed Asthma UK’s website reports that Susan Cooper, one of the leading researchers involved in the Nottingham trial, said that “there was no improvement to their [the Buteyko group’s] lung function and they were not able to reduce their dosage of inhaled steroids taken to keep their asthma under control.”
The first assertion is probably correct. Although the Buteyko method is successful at controlling asthma symptoms, Lifesource accepts that the Buteyko group’s reaction to irritating stuff being stuck down their airways after six months was no different to the reaction of the placebo or pranayamic groups. But so what? Lifesource did not expect that the reaction to provocation by the Buteyko group would change so dramatically in such a short space of time. It would take a long time for such huge changes to occur. The point is that Buteyko helps a person control symptoms, which reduces their need for medication and therefore the unpleasant side effects of asthma drugs.
The second statement that “they were not able to reduce their dosage of inhaled steroids” contradicts the researcher’s own findings, as published in their ‘scientific’ paper so should need no further explanation from us!
Interestingly, the Division of Respiratory Medicine at Nottingham City Hospital is currently engaged in yet another long-winded and expensive study to investigate the therapeutic effects on asthma of taping the mouth at night. This proved to be one of the most contentious aspects of the Buteyko method in the Nottingham trial, where participants were actively persuaded by the researchers not to bother with mouth-taping if they found it too distressing!
To date, the widespread and very powerful effects of the Buteyko method have been largely ignored or resisted by mainstream medicine, which continues to maintain that the symptoms of asthma, allergy and other breathing problems should be medicated away.
Having assumed this to be ‘true’, scientific research and so-called ‘non-profit’ asthma organisations, largely funded by pharmaceutical companies, spend millions of pounds analysing data in support of their existing beliefs.
Lifesource and increasing numbers of asthma and allergy sufferers, disillusioned with conventional asthma treatments, can only measure the effectiveness of the Breathology Programme experientially. In truth, if the glowing testimonials Lifesource receives supported orthodox medicine’s view, then doctors would call them case studies. Because they don’t they are dismissed as anecdotal.
This is the view of one of the Buteyko trial participants, three years after the study ended:
“I’m now the wrong side of 40 and still no inhalers. It was interesting to see the reports into our study. Does this mean that asthma sufferers are still at the mercy of doctors enjoying golfing weekends supplied by the pharmaceutical giants? What utter tosh! Good job we know
better. Still succeeding, still in control, still available as a living testimonial. Keep up the good work.”
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