Pranayama Has Additive Beneficial Effects Along with Medication in Bronchial Asthma Patients

Bronchial asthma is a large economic burden i.e. 12.7 billion dollar globally. Bronchial asthma is the most common cause of missed school days in children i.e. 10.2 million & 3 million missed working days for adults annually. Efficient & safe asthma control will not only reduce the economic burden but also side effects of drugs because it reduce the doses of drugs. As little work has been done on beneficial effect of pranayama on pulmonary function test in UP. So present study has been planned with following aims & objective - to compare the FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEFR in bronchial asthma patients under treatment practising pranayama(study group) & not practising pranayama (control group). Present study has been conducted in the department of physiology at S.N.M.C. Agra with the help of micro lab spirometer in 3months. 50 cases of bronchial asthma practising pranayama form the study group & 50 bronchial asthma patients not practising pranayama form the control group. History of cigarette smoking hypertension,diabetes&chronic chest infections like T.B. & chest deformity were excluded in the study. The cases were instructed by trained yoga instructor to perform anoloma- viloma & kapalbhati pranayama regularly for 3 months & then dynamic lung function parameter FVC, FEV1,FEV1/FVC,PEFR was receded before & after pranayama & observation were studied by applying student t-test & evaluated statistically. On comparing study & control group, FVC, FEV1, FVC/FEV1, PEFR are improved in both the study & control group, after one month of pranayama but improved in study group,not in control group after second & third month of pranayama.