Efficacy of Alternate Nostril Breathing on Pulmonary Function and Physical Functional Capacity in Healthy Adults Across Different Age Groups: Randomized Control Trial

Abstract

Objectives: Lung function and functional capacity gradually decline even in asymptomatic individual with age. Alternate nostril breathing (ANB) is a breathing exercise used to modulate the pace of breathing. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ANB on pulmonary function and physical functional capacity in normal adults across different age groups. Methods: 48 participants aged 20-50 years were stratified based on age and were assigned into young (experimental and control group) and old age strata (experimental and control group) for this randomized controlled trial. Pulmonary function (FEV₁, FVC, FEV₁/FVC, PIFR, and PEFR) and physical functional capacity (6MWD) were assessed before and after the test. Experimental groups practiced ANB for 15 minutes for 4 weeks (6 days/week) in front of primary researcher. No intervention was given to control groups. Between groups analysis was done by Mann Whitney U test whereas, Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for within group analysis. Results: Significant differences were found in median values of FEV₁ (2.21-2.47, p=.002), FVC (2.39-2.77, p=.003), PEFR (5.30-6.45, p=.002), and PIFR (3.85-4.22, p=.05) between total experimental and total control groups, but not in FEV₁/FVC ( p=.41 )and PIFR (p=20). Post treatment analysis of total experimental group showed significant improvement in FEV₁ (p= .0001), FVC (p=.0001), PEFR (p= .0001), PIFR (p= .002) and 6MWD (p= .0001), while total control group had no significant improvement in any component (p˃.05). Conclusion: Alternate nostril breathing can be used as a maneuver to improve age related lung function decrement.

Keywords

• Adults
• breathing exercise
• lung function
• peak expiratory flow rate

Supporting Institution

The authors received no financial support for the research

Ethical Statement

This study was approved by Ethics Committee of Maharishi Markandeshwar Mullana, Haryana, India with ethical number IEC-1365 on 15/03/2019

Thanks

We greatly acknowledge the support from all participants and sincerely thank all the subjects for taking part in the study

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