Alternate therapies have place in asthma treatment
Breathing techniques may have a positive effect
The patient was wheezing and gasping for breath in the emergency department at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. The patient’s doctor knew it was a particularly acute exacerbation.
"In fact, inside I was very anxious and worried, but outside I tried to be calm and reassuring," says Zvi Ben-Zvi, MD, director of pediatric pulmonary medicine at Beth Israel Hospital. "I was conducting a study, but I didn’t think this patient was a candidate because his condition was too severe. But I started to wheel him to the pulmonary lab anyway," and tried to get him to relax.
"I told him to breathe in deeply and slowly and breathe out through pursed lips," Ben-Zvi says of the incident that "changed my attitude toward these complementary therapies." In the few minutes it took for the doctor to get his patient to the lab, the exacerbation was over. "He was fine. His asthma was too mild to be studied."
"I was very affected by the experience," says Ben-Zvi. "I was amazed, and that’s what brought me to the idea of trying hypnotherapy and other methods of treatment."
Now Ben-Zvi is among hundreds of doctors and researchers around the world who are studying nontraditional means of treating chronic diseases. Known as alternative, complementary, or integrative medicine, most practitioners hope to bring mainstream and non-mainstream medicine together for the benefit of patients.
Patients avail themselves of the alternative therapies, oftentimes without the knowledge of their medical practitioners. The December issue of the Journal of Asthma reported among the most popular therapies among asthmatics in Britain are breathing techniques, homeopathy, herbalism, yoga, and acupuncture. The techniques have strong support in the United States as well. In America, these therapies ring up $12 billion a year. Experts say those who suffer from moderate to severe asthma are very likely to look for relief in nontraditional treatments.
Researcher Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, FRCP, professor in the department of complementary medicine at the University of Exeter Postgraduate Medical School in England, says asthma patients are "prime candidates" for complementary therapies because their disease is a "benign chronic condition for which mainstream medicine cannot offer a reliable cure."
Of the 4,741 asthma patients included in Ernst’s study, 59% said they had used complementary therapies that helped to a "slight" extent or to "some" extent. Of the 41% who had not used alternative medicine, 67% said they would be willing to try it in the future.
He concluded this area of health care warranted more rigorous investigation, to make physicians more aware of the extra services their patients are seeking and to determine the efficacy of the techniques used.
Ben-Zvi, who is also a licensed acupuncturist, has tried hypnotherapy for exercise-induced asthma with "good results" and is currently conducting a music therapy study at Beth Israel that is already showing positive results by teaching asthma patients to play wind instruments. He theorizes that the breathing necessary to play a flute. an oboe, or a clarinet is exactly what asthma patients need to open and strengthen their airways.
Yoga teachers have taught their students deep, slow abdominal breathing for centuries. That’s something Ben-Zvi and many other doctors think is helpful for asthma patients, not only because of the "deep breathing as opposed to the shallow chest breathing many asthmatics use," but also because of the relaxing effects of the deep breathing.
Alternative therapies rarely target just one condition, says Eileen Silva, MS, founder of the Hegan Center in Southlake, TX. "We treat the body as a whole and see something like asthma as a symptom of a larger imbalance. I look at the big picture."
Silva, who teaches seminars in integrative medicine to physicians and other health care professionals, looks at imbalances in microorganisms and in highly acidic pH factors for patients with asthma and treats them with a variety of modalities, centering on detoxifying the body, ridding it of parasites, and neutralizing the acidity. She includes a rather unique suggestion for asthmatics: trampoline jumping as the patient can tolerate it.
"It stimulates the lymphatic system, helps the toxicities come out, and has some pretty remarkable effects on patients with asthma," Silva says. She tells her patients to begin by jumping lightly for one to two minutes, and when they feel better, increasing it to a regular program for 15 to 20 minutes a day.
Silva also advocates drinking lots of plain, filtered water to help drive detoxification. She recommends drinking at least two quarts a day, not including coffee, tea, or soft drinks.
She also notes alternate therapies should be used in conjunction with medications and protocols prescribed by traditional practitioners. "If they still need aggressive therapy in terms of medications, then they need it. I would never undermine traditional health care specialists." However, she says, as patients begin to bring their bodies back into balance, they and their doctors may find their need for medications change.
Ernst’s study showed physicians had little knowledge of alternative therapies and recommended they familiarize themselves with such therapies in order to more effectively treat their patients.
Grace Ormstein, MD, scientific advisor for Ayurveda Concepts, an herbal remedy company in Houston, says asthma patients respond well to mixtures of herbs, which may include licorice, aloe vera, and yarrow. Butcher’s broom is also commonly used to help reduce inflammation in the airways.
Herbalists are careful to caution patients and physicians that herbs are powerful medicines and they should not be taken lightly.
Ormstein says her job is to educate patients about the alternatives available to them. "They have to make the decision, but if they’re on conventional treatment, they need to communicate their decision to use herbs to their physicians," Ormstein says.
[Zvi Ben-Zvi can be reached at (212) 420-4175. Contact Edzard Ernst at (011) 44 (0) 1392 430-802, Eileen Silva at (817) 424-5204, and Grace Ormstein at (800) 869-4640.]
Glossary of Alternative Therapies
o Acupressure
Commonly described as acupuncture without needles. Finger and thumb pressure is applied to acupoints to relieve specific conditions and promote harmony and good health.
o Acupuncture
Part of traditional Chinese medicine. Practi-tioners insert fine, sterile needles into specific points on the body as a treatment for disorders ranging from asthma to alcohol addiction. In the West, it is most often used for pain relief.
o Ayurveda
The major traditional holistic healing system of the Indian subcontinent. Practitioners believe well-being is affected by three vital energies that constantly fluctuate. Treatment can include purifying techniques, diet, yoga postures, and breathing exercises.
o Homeopathy
Based on the theory of "like cures like." A poison that causes symptoms of illness in a healthy person can treat the same symptoms when used in minute amounts in one who is ill.
o Hypnotherapy
Practitioners induce a state of consciousness akin to deep daydreaming in which the patient is deeply relaxed and open to suggestion and can be desensitized to fears, phobias, or pain.
o Reiki
A form of Japanese spiritual healing. Practi-tioners draw on "reiki energy" and channel it to areas of need in themselves and their patients.
o Yoga
A complete system of body postures and breathing techniques, originally developed (in India) as a preparation for spiritual development.
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