Woman's Weekly Wellbeing: Asthma

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Each week we team up with Woman's Weekly magazine to talk about different health conditions. This week we look at coping with asthma.

Swimming

Swimming is a great way to improve your breathing and develop lung capacity. Surprisingly, many elite swimmers have asthma. There is some evidence that the warm, humid air in a public pool can make breathing a little easier.
Try: Amateur Swimming Association. Call 01509 618700, or visit www.britishswimming.org. For information for people with asthma, call Asthma UK's Adviceline on 0800 121 6244.

Breathing techniques

Australian researchers found that breathing techniques helped those taking part - who all had mild asthma - to reduce the use of their reliever inhalers by more than 80 per cent, and halve the dose of their preventer inhalers. Two techniques were practised for 30 days - shallow nasal breathing with slow exhalations, and upper-body exercises with relaxation. Both were equally effective.
Try: Powerbreathe WELLNESS Classic plus instructional DVD, £29.99; call 01926 816100, or visit www.powerbreathe.com. Known as "dumbbells for the diaphragm" because it trains the breathing muscles to work harder to improve their strength and endurance.

Tai chi

A small study in Thailand found that the series of slow, controlled movements and focused breathing used in tai chi and qigong eased the symptoms of moderate to severe asthma after six weeks. There's a possibility that this type of exercise could also reduce the dosage of drugs asthma patients need to take.
Try: Tai Chi Finder. For a local class, call 020 8819 2767, or visit www.taichifinder.co.uk

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