[Objectifying the effect of autogenic training on disordered ventilation in bronchial asthma]

Abstract

Forty-one persons suffering from asthma (aged 20 to 55; duration of disease: greater than or equal 2 years) were divided into 2 groups and participated in courses of instruction in autogenic training. The control group was comprised of 14 patients. The effects of autogenic training on the maximum rate of expiration as well as the limiting respiratory value were recorded. The control group showed a seasonal decrease in the maximum rate of expiration and the limiting respiratory value by 10 to 20% in the period extending from April through November. The autogenic-training patients showed a temporally similar increase in the maximum rate of expiration of 27 and 22%, respectively (the difference to the control group being 47 and 42%, respectively). In 35 patients the increase in the limiting respiratory value was equal to or greater than the effect produced by novodrine. Catamnesis after one year (n = 40): Absence from work in a twelve-month period was 663 days prior to autogenic training and 77 days (11.6%) subsequent to autogenic training. Accordingly, autogenic training may be considered to be an objectively effective component of a combination of therapeutical methods used in the treatment of bronchial asthma.