What is Buteyko?
Buteyko (pronounced Bu-tay-ko) is most commonly used as a treatment for those with asthma and other
breathing disorders such as COPD and hyperventilation.
Buteyko helps people with disordered breathing patterns – such as panic breathing, mouth breathing or dry coughing to retrain themselves to use a normal breathing pattern at all times. The techniques focus on relaxed, nasal, diaphragmatic breathing, with breath holding and progressive breathlessness resilience exercises. The exercises initially need to be practised at home for a few weeks and when symptoms are experienced.
The evidence base for the effectiveness of breathing training, such as Buteyko, has recently improved,
with positive reports from several large controlled trials. In fact in the British Thoracic Society Asthma
Management Guidelines recommend Buteyko to help control asthma symptoms.
It was developed in Russia in the 1950's by a Russian doctor called Konstantin Buteyko, from whom the technique gets it's name. In 1981 the Russian authorities officially recognised the method as beneficial and approved it for use as a treatment for asthma throughout the former Soviet Union.