The Buteyko Method

Brief History
The buteyko method is a way of breathing that was developed by Russian doctor Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko. He developed an interest into the relationship between breathing and health when he was given a practical assignment that involved monitoring diseased patients breathing while in his third year of study at the First Medical Institute in Moscow.

In the late 1950’s he conducted tests on hundred’s of patients both healthy and sick, so that by the late 1960’s over 1000 patients had been successfully treated for asthma, hypertension or stenocardia using Buteyko simple breathing techniques.

Over the next 15 years Buteyko did many studies but it seems his technique met some resistance in gaining nation wide acceptance. It was not until 1980 when yet another independent report accepted his claims that his technique gained traction in his homeland. The Buteyko method is now fully endorsed by the Russian government. And independent research1,^{2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} outside of Russia has shown similar results.

Additionally the Buteyko method has been shown to have a positive effect on the treatment of a whole range of related disorders such as allergies, rhinitis, bronchitis, sleeping disorders and many breathing problems.

Underlying theory
The underlying theory of the buteyko method is that over breathing (hyperventilation) causes a reduction in carbon dioxide in the body. Carbon dioxide plays an important role in the body’s buffer systems, is a regulator of respiration, and influences the vascular, hormonal, nervous and digestive systems. Carbon dioxide moves in the body variously as gaseous carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, bicarbonates, carbonates and carbamates. Over breathing effects all these compounds that in turn have a detrimental effect on one’s health. The Buteyko method encourages controlled breathing thereby reducing and finally eliminating over breathing. Historically carbon dioxide has been thought solely as a waste product of respiration, but it is now known that carbon dioxide is essential to the body’s healthy function and if it drops to too low a concentration in the body then the body can’t survive.

Although there is no doubt that the Buteyko method works, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood and there are probalbly other factors besides carbon dioxide concentrations alone that give the positive results.^{9, 10, 11, 12}

For more information about the Buteyko method.

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References

1. Bowler, S.D., et al. Buteyko breathing techniques in asthma: A blinded randomised controlled trial, Medical Journal of Australia, December 1998, 169,pp.575-578.

2. Simon D Bowler, Amanda Green and Charles A Mitchell, Buteyko breathing techniques in asthma: a blinded randomised controlled trial, MJA 1998; 169: 575-578

3. A. J. Opat, M. M. Cohen, M. J. Bailey and M. J. Abramson, A Clinical Trial of the Buteyko Breathing Technique in Asthma as Taught by a Video, Journal of Asthma, 2000, Vol. 37, No. 7 , Pages 557-564

4. Patrick McHugh, Fergus Aitcheson, Bruce Duncan and Frank Houghton, Buteyko Breathing Technique for asthma: an effective intervention, Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 12-December-2003, Vol 116 No 1187

5. Robert L. Cowie, Diane P. Conley, Margot F. Underwood, Patricia G. Reader, A randomised controlled trial of the Buteyko technique as an adjunct to conventional management of asthma, Respiratory Medicine, Volume 102, Issue 5 , Pages 726-732, May 2008

6. A. Bruton, G.T. Lewith, The Buteyko breathing technique for asthma: A review, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, Volume 13, Issue 1 , Pages 41-46, March 2005

7. S Cooper, J Oborne, S Newton, V Harrison, J Thompson Coon, S Lewis, A Tattersfield, Effect of two breathing exercises (Buteyko and pranayama) in asthma: a randomised controlled trial, Thorax 2003;58:674-679 doi:10.1136/thorax.58.8.674

8. Patrick McHugh, Bruce Duncan and Frank Houghton, Buteyko breathing technique and asthma in children: a case series, Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 19-May-2006, Vol 119 No 1234

9. Rosalba Courtney and Marc Cohen. Investigating the Claims of Konstantin Buteyko, M.D., Ph.D.: The Relationship of Breath Holding Time to End Tidal CO2 and Other Proposed Measures of Dysfunctional Breathing, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. March 2008, 14(2): 115-123.

10. Anne Bruton, PhD and Stephen T. Holgate, DSc, Hypocapnia and Asthma, A Mechanism for Breathing Retraining?, CHEST May 2005 vol. 127 no. 5 1808-1811

11. AL-DELAIMY Wael K. HAY Scott M. GAIN Kevin R. JONES David T. CRANE Julian, The effects of carbon dioxide on exercise-induced asthma : an unlikely explanation for the effects of Buteyko breathing training. Medical journal of Australia, 2001, vol. 174, no2, pp. 72-74 (12 ref.)

12. Rosalba Courtney, Strengths, Weaknesses, and Possibilities of the Buteyko Breathing Method, Biofeedback, Volume 36, Issue 2, pp. 59-63

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