Functional Relaxation and Guided Imagery as Complementary Therapy in Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Asthma is a frequently disabling and almost invariably
distressing disease that has a high overall prevalence. Although
relaxation techniques and hypnotherapeutic interventions have
proven their effectiveness in numerous trials, relaxation therapies
are still not recommended in treatment guidelines due to a lack of
methodological quality in many of the trials. Therefore, this study
aims to investigate the efficacy of the brief relaxation technique
of functional relaxation (FR) and guided imagery (GI) in adult
asthmatics in a randomized controlled trial. Methods: 64 patients
with extrinsic bronchial asthma were treated over a 4-week period
and assessed at baseline, after treatment and after 4 months, for
follow-up. 16 patients completed FR, 14 GI, 15 both FR and GI
(FR/GI) and 13 received a placebo relaxation technique as the
control intervention (CI). The forced expiratory volume in the
first second (FEV 1) as well as the specific airway resistance
(sR(aw)) were employed as primary outcome measures. Results:
Participation in FR, GI and FR/GI led to increases in FEV 1 (%
predicted) of 7.6 +/- 13.2, 3.3 +/- 9.8, and 8.3 +/- 21.0,
respectively, as compared to -1.8 +/- 11.1 in the CI group at the
end of the therapy. After follow-up, the increases in FEV 1 were
6.9 +/- 10.3 in the FR group, 4.4 +/- 7.3 in the GI and 4.5 +/- 8.1
in the FR/GI, compared to -2.8 +/- 9.2 in the CI. Improvements in
sR(aw) (% predicted) were in keeping with the changes in FEV 1 in
all groups. Conclusions: Our study confirms a positive effect of FR
on respiratory parameters and suggests a clinically relevant
long-term benefit from FR as a nonpharmacological and complementary
therapy treatment option. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel