| Abstract: | OBJECTIVE: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy
in children, and children with DMD die prematurely because of respiratory failure.
We sought to determine the efficacy and safety of yoga breathing exercises, as
well as the effects of those exercises on respiratory function, in such children.
METHODS: This was a prospective open-label study of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of
DMD, recruited from among those followed at the neurology outpatient clinic of a
university hospital in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Participants were taught how
to perform hatha yoga breathing exercises and were instructed to perform the
exercises three times a day for 10 months. RESULTS: Of the 76 patients who entered the study, 35 dropped out and 15 were unable to
perform the breathing exercises, 26 having therefore completed the study (mean
age, 9.5 ± 2.3 years; body mass index, 18.2 ± 3.8 kg/m2). The yoga
breathing exercises resulted in a significant increase in FVC (% of predicted:
82.3 ± 18.6% at baseline vs. 90.3 ± 22.5% at 10 months later; p = 0.02) and
FEV1 (% of predicted: 83.8 ± 16.6% at baseline vs. 90.1 ± 17.4% at
10 months later; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Yoga breathing exercises can improve pulmonary function in patients with DMD. |
