Menu
Menu
Asthma is a chronic lung disease affecting people of all ages. It is caused by inflammation and muscle tightening around the airways, which makes it harder to breathe.
During an asthma attack, your airways become narrow, limiting your ability to breathe freely. This can result from spasms of the muscles around the airways, inflammation and swelling of the mucosal membrane that lines them, or high amounts of mucus inside them.
Symptoms can include coughing to clear the mucous, wheezing sounds, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. These symptoms can be mild or severe and can come and go over time.
Although asthma can be a serious condition, it can be managed with a medical doctor and one’s breathing mechanics can be retrained.
When left untreated, asthma can lead to sleep disturbance, daytime fatigue, and poor concentration.
At the Hobson Institute, we’re here to provide helpful resources and support for anyone dealing with asthma. Let’s work together to make breathing easier and enjoy a healthier life.
Symptoms of asthma can vary from person to person. Symptoms sometimes get significantly worse. This is known as an asthma attack. Symptoms are often worse at night or during exercise.
Common symptoms of asthma include:
Some people will have worse symptoms when they have a cold or during changes in the weather. Other triggers can include dust, smoke, fumes, grass and tree pollen, animal fur and feathers, strong soaps, and perfume.
Have you ever wondered why some people have asthma while others don’t? The exact reasons remain uncertain, but factors such as allergies and genetics play a significant role.
If you or someone you care about has asthma, it’s crucial to identify the triggers that set off attacks. Knowing your triggers empowers you to take preventive measures, reducing the frequency and severity of asthma episodes.
At the Hobson Institute, our Craniofacial therapists specialize in the Buteyko Breathing technique. This approach involves hypoventilation exercises, teaching patients to breathe differently during an asthma attack. Unlike the instinct to breathe more, Buteyko emphasizes breathing less.
With this technique, patients deliberately increase their carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, which are often low in asthmatics. Adequate CO2 is crucial for proper oxygen circulation in the blood. When we breathe too much, it hinders the release of oxygen from hemoglobin, impacting its distribution to organs and tissues. Buteyko’s breathing retraining helps alleviate muscle constriction, normalizes breathing rates, and allows the lungs to function optimally.
Patients adopting this method not only learn to overcome asthma attacks but also discover how to prevent them through regular practice. At the Hobson Institute, we’re dedicated to providing effective strategies to enhance your respiratory well-being.
Asthma is a complex condition that affects individuals in various ways, often leading to poor control and a reliance on rescue medications. At Hobson Institute, we focus on a holistic approach, including breathing exercises to improve respiratory health.
There are two main types of breathing exercises we emphasize:
1. Respiratory Muscle Exercises:
2. Thoracic Cage and Posture Exercises:
The goal of our breathing training is to normalize breathing patterns. This involves adopting a slower respiratory rate, longer expiration, reduced overall ventilation, and utilizing abdominal muscles in resting breathing, with a preference for nasal breathing over mouth breathing.
Dr. Hobson and our Craniofacial team are trained in the Buteyko Breathing Method, a technique that improves breathing mechanics and physiology.
Many individuals may not realize they have suboptimal breathing habits, such as mouth and chest breathing, which can lead to faster breathing rates and excessive air intake. Normalizing breathing patterns is crucial because habitual over-breathing, common in conditions like asthma, can have detrimental effects.
In conditions like asthma, breathing volume can exceed normal levels, leading to over 20 liters per minute instead of the usual 6 liters. This over-breathing habit, if persistent, can contribute to various health issues, including respiratory problems, heart disease, high blood pressure, and organ damage.
At Hobson Institute, we use a Capnometer to assess CO2 levels in the body, as maintaining a healthy level of carbon dioxide is essential. Many asthmatic patients exhibit low CO2 levels, causing lung and blood vessel constriction. While medications like steroid inhalers are often prescribed, our focus is on addressing the root cause – the over-breathing pattern.
Our approach has been successful in reducing the dependence on inhalers and, in some cases, eliminating the need for medication by retraining breathing habits. Join our community of asthmatics who have learned the proper way to breathe, becoming less dependent on medication and achieving improved respiratory health. Make an in person or virtual appointment today.
“I am so pleased to report that I am off my steroid inhalers which I have been using for years. The Hobson Institute taught me how to control how big and often I breathe and it have made a world of difference. If you are interested in reducing your medication, I highly recommend you work with their therapists to learn how to retrain the way you breathe because asthma is a breathing disorder and it makes sense to work on your breathing.”
– E. Lopez, patient
Contact us today to schedule an appointment (312-986-9833).
