EFFECT OF ONE MONTH DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING ON PEAKEXPIRATORY FLOW RATE AND BREATH HOLDING TIME

Abstract

Practice of yoga based relaxation techniques has been associated with various physiological changes in our body. The long term practice of these techniques has been reported to improve the pulmonary functions. However, the study on effects of short term diaphragmatic breathing on lung functions is yet lacking. Therefore, the present analytical study was conducted to find the changes in pulmonary functions after practising diaphragmatic breathing for one month among (n=40; 20 males and 20 females) 1^st year MBBS students aged between 18-20 years. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and breathe holding time (BHT) was recorded in these subjects before and after one month of practising diaphragmatic breathing. There was a significant increase in both PEFR and BHT after 1month of diaphragmatic breathing manoeuvre depicting the beneficial of diaphragmatic breathing on pulmonary functions.

Key words: Yoga; Pulmonary functions; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; Breath Holding Time