Doctors and Buteyko
With any new treatment, the
medical profession makes slow and cautious changes and in general most doctors
have taken this approach to Buteyko. However, the Brisbane trial results and the
recovery of their own patients are encouraging more doctors to recommend Buteyko
courses. We have special information packs for health professionals and your
doctor is welcome to attend any Buteyko class.
In November 1994 a medical trial sponsored by the Australian Association of
Asthma Foundations was started at the Mater Hospital, Brisbane. The results of
the trial were published in the December 1998 issue of the Medical journal of
Australia (MJA). They showed that three months after following the Buteyko
program, the asthmatic participants were experiencing 81% less symptoms. As a
result, they had reduced their reliever medication by an average of 96% and
their steroid preventers by an average of 49%.
Buteyko is not a cure for asthma, but it does address the cause. At the
beginning of the Brisbane trial it was shown that those breathing the most air
per minute, were also using the most medication. At the end, the people who had
reduced their breathing the most, were the same people who had reduced their
medication.
The control group who were practicing Physiotherapy breathing exercises did not
reduce their breathing volume, and saw virtually no change in their medication
usage. However, they were subsequently taught the Buteyko technique and showed
the same amazing results as the original Buteyko group.
"Over the last two years I have examined many patients before and after the
course and found the improvement to be repeatable to the degree that patients in
over 90% of cases can stop medical treatment, or reduce it to less than half, of
that, which was previously required. I attended the tutorials and found the
approach, tuition and the method to be responsible and safe. As a medical doctor
and Naturopath, I am impressed and surprised at the effectiveness and safety of
this natural approach".
Doctor Paul Ameison
M.B.B.S, M.D, D.A.C, N. D.
"Professor Buteyko's principles are entirely consistent with the physiological
facts established by medical research 120 years ago. The Buteyko system makes
use of the person's own resources and trains them in taking responsibility for
their own health. They become less dependant on outside agencies such as
hospitals, doctors and physiotherapists, thereby reducing the costs to the
health service".
Doctor Godfrey Nelson
M.B.B.A, F.R.A.C, G.P
Doctor Gerald Spence
Dr Spence, a Glasgow GP, told the
QED science programme that Buteyko had had a major impact on his practice. He
started the breathing technique after the expensive drug treatments currently on
the market appeared to make no difference to his patients. "The simple fact is
that 34 patients, prior to Buteyko, were costing £15,000 for their asthma
medication," he said. "After Buteyko, they were costing £5,000. That's a
reduction of two-thirds in their drugs bill. If this was extended to the rest of
the country, very significant savings could be made."
(Source: BBC News Online/Health archive)
