Information for Health Professionals

This section contains information from medical journals and articles by healthcare professionals relating to the Buteyko breathing technique. Read feedback on Buteyko from medical professionals here >> Published Buteyko studies, 1998-2009 (pdf) >> Go to Clinical Trials section >> Asthma Fact and Contact Sheet (pdf) >>

Ultimately, medicine has a single aim: to relieve human suffering. When measured against this benchmark, different therapies can be seen as either effective or ineffective rather than 'orthodox' or 'unorthodox'. No single professional group has ownership of health, and the best healthcare requires a multidisciplinary approach. Thus there is an imperative for all healthcare professionals to work together for the benefit of their patients and the wider community Professor Marc Cohen   MBBS(Hons), PhD, BMed Sci(Hons), FAMAC Australasian Integrative Medicine Association

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Results from a comprehensive survey on breathing retraining for sleep apnoea are available on the BIBH website

Over 11,000 people with sleep apnoea had been taught the method by the Buteyko Institute practitioners who participated in the survey. Practitioners estimated that the majority of clients with sleep apnoea had been able to improve sleep and reduce symptoms following breathing retraining using the Buteyko Institute Method.

The survey results have been sent to sleep researchers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and are also available as a downloadable PDF (linked below). It is hoped that making this data available will attract interest from sleep researchers to conduct independent trials of the Buteyko Institute Method of breathing retraining for sleep apnoea.

View pdf:  Sleep Apnoea and Breathing Retraining Report May 2012
(Wednesday, May 09, 2012) 

No one who breathes correctly should require an oral device, mouthpiece, CPAP machine or surgery to enjoy restful, snore-free sleep. We will teach you to breathe correctly and the results will astound you. Contact us for more information >>

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Two new studies link sleep apnoea to increased cancer risk 

The relationship between sleep disordered breathing and cardiovascular risk is well documented. Now two observational studies are suggesting a strong link with increased risk of cancer. The new research marks the first time that sleep apnoea has been linked to cancer in humans.

The researchers ruled out the possibility that the usual risk factors for cancer, like age, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and weight, could have played a role. The association between cancer and disordered breathing at night remained even after they adjusted these and other variables. Neither study specifically looked at the impact of treatment for apnoea on survival although in the Wisconsin study the cancer association was stronger after people who were being treated with CPAP were removed from the analysis.

Source NYT: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/sleep-apnea-tied-to-increased-cancer-risk/
Wisconsin study abstract: http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/content/early/2012/05/10/rccm.201201-0130OC.abstract

Quote of the day from the NY Times article

“I would say that this is one more instance that shows that sleep apnea can have profound impacts for people’s health,” he added.  “Not breathing while you’re sleeping is a serious problem.” 
– Dr. F. Javier Nieto, one of the Wisconsin study’s authors

(Tuesday, May 25, 2012)

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Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) Conference
Saturday/Sunday, 18 & 19 May, Auckland. Conference theme: Modern Epidemics - The Integrative Management of Cardiovascular & Auto-Immune Disease [more]

NIH Study: Buteyko breathing technique improvements in asthma symptoms and reductions in reliever medications
A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, for the United States Institute of Health (NIH) finds Buteyko delivers substantial reductions in symptoms and medication usage for asthmatics. [more]

Clinical Review: Sleep apnoea - A survey of breathing retraining
By Mary Birch, Australian Nursing Journal October 2012, Vol 20, No. 4, pages 40-41. [more]

Over-diagnosis is 'doing more harm than good'
A feature article in the May issue of the British Medical Journal; Preventing over-diagnosis: how to stop harming the healthy, claims that asthma, among a list of other complaints, may be over-diagnosed. [more]

Does the World's Bestselling Asthma Drug Sometimes Kill the Patients it is Supposed to Help?

Are Asthma Medications and Management Related to Deaths from Asthma?
Abramson MJ et al and the Victorian Asthma Mortality Study Group AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE VOL 163 2001 [more]

Buteyko Breathing Technique for asthma: an effective intervention
Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 12-December-2003, Vol 116 No 1187 [more]

Cardiovascular Disease and Health-Care Utilization in Snorers: a Population Survey
Andrea Dunai, MD, Andras P. Keszei, MD, PhD, Maria S. Kopp, MD,PhD, Colin M. Shapiro, MBBCh, PhD, FRCPC, Istvan Mucsi, MD, PhD, Marta Novak, MD, PhD SLEEP Volume 31, Issue 03, Pages 411-416 [more]

What is Buteyko?
A Fact Sheet from the Asthma Foundation of New Zealand [more]

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Beta Agonists & Asthma
Summary of risks from the use of Long Acting Beta Agonists (LABA) with comment from doctors at Gisborne Hospital and links to NZMJ discussion.

Medical / healthcare practices:  We are happy to send you copies of our brochure for your patients free of charge.  However, due to recent demand, we are currently out of stock and are waiting for more to be printed.  In the meantime, please feel free to download our brochure here.

If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.
– Andrew Weil, M.D.