The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point

Archive for the 'Breathing' Category

Review: Benefits of CAM to help treat hypertension

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

HeartBeatingThe American Heart Association has summarized the blood pressure-lowering effects of several alternative approaches and provided recommendations for their use.

Here’s what we know in people with blood pressure (BP) levels higher than 120/80 mmHg. (more…)

Nonpharmacological strategies for breathlessness

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Breathlessness (aka dyspnea) is difficult to manage in palliative care.

Researchers in the UK reviewed and ranked the most effective nonpharmacological strategies. (more…)

The value of breathing training in asthma

Monday, October 24th, 2011

Surveys suggest many people with asthma use it, often without the knowledge of their healthcare providers.

Researchers at the University of Southampton, in the UK, reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Plan to treat fibromyalgia pain in advance

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

MayoClinic.com tells us, “When fibromyalgia pain or fatigue is severe, you might not be thinking clearly… Having a plan to follow gives you a sense of control over your signs and symptoms.” (more…)

Using CAM to improve the lives of cancer patients

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

During the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting, researchers at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, in Perth, Western Australia reported less distress, and improvements in pain, fatigue, nausea, appetite, sleep, breathing and bowel function. (more…)

Inspriatory muscle training in patients following stroke

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Researchers at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, in Brazil, evaluated the effectiveness of inspiratory muscular training on strength, resistance, functional performance, and quality of life among chronic stroke survivors. (more…)

More digeridoo playing in Australia

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Asthma affects over 15% of Australian Aboriginal people. This is at least 50% higher than in non-indigenous Australians.

Researchers at the University of Southern Queensland, in Australia, studied whether Aboriginal people would engage in music lessons to increase their knowledge of asthma and support management of their asthma. (more…)

Survey of American medical students about CAM

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

Researchers from several US medical schools surveyed the students. (more…)

Effect of breathing rate on pain and emotion in women with fibromyalgia

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Researchers at Arizona State University, in Tempe studied the effects of breathing rate following thermal pain in women with fibromyalgia syndrome. (more…)

Effects of deep breathing on pain management

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

There was a significant difference in patient satisfaction, according to researchers in Chicago.

But what about their pain? (more…)

Endurance training for people with myasthenia gravis

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Normocapnic hyperpnea is a form of endurance training for respiratory muscles.

This study reports it’s useful in people with myasthenia gravis. (more…)

Chest physiotherapy after upper abdominal surgery

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

 Researchers from the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil evaluated the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy during the immediate postoperative period among patients who had elective upper abdominal surgery. (more…)

Supportive care for chronic fatigue syndrome

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Medscape has published a review written by clinicians from around the US.

Let’s focus on 6 supportive care options for chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, aka chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and myalgic encephalomyelitis. (more…)

Yoga in patients with COPD

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

 Researchers from the University of Ferrara, in Italy tell us yoga-derived breathing improves gas exchange in patients with chronic heart failure and in people exposed to high-altitude hypoxia.

Here’s what they found in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). (more…)

The use of prayer as CAM

Friday, May 8th, 2009

The use of prayer is rarely queried in surveys of CAM use. Here are the highlights from a Centers for Disease Control survey on the use of CAM. It’s based on interviews with more than 31,000 adults. The report is available here (then go to the “Barnes PM” link) and here. (more…)

Non-pharmacological treatments for breathlessness

Monday, March 16th, 2009

 Here are the results of a Cochrane review of non-drug options in advanced stages of malignant and non-malignant diseases. (more…)

Most commonly used CAM in the US

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Here’s a follow-up to earlier posts here, here, and here on the use of CAM in the US as surveyed by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). (more…)

Music helps breathing in people with COPD

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Get out your MP3 player if you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

As the researchers from the University of Hamburg state in their ivory tower way, “Auditory distraction might… serve as an intervention for the reduction of dyspnea [difficulty breathing] during exercise in this patient group.” (more…)

CAM and the chronic fatigue syndrome

Monday, October 20th, 2008

Medscape has published a review.

Here’s a summary of CAM options. (more…)

The value of PEP in obstructive lung disease

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) sometimes claim to experience immediate subjective benefit when they purse their lips while exhaling. It’s called pursed lips breathing and results in a positive expiratory pressure (PEP).

Are they wasting their breath? (more…)