Originally published October 31 2005
Breath therapy proves effective in relieving back pain
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A study headed by Dr. Wolf Mehling, assistant clinical professor at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, found that breath therapy, an emerging CAM practice, is effective in treating lower back pain.
At first glance, it may seem like a new age massage treatment or a strange free-form dance.
But a type of alternative medicine known as breath therapy can be as effective as physical therapy in treating chronic low-back pain, a recent study by a University of California-San Francisco professor found.
The study, published in the July/August issue of Alternative Therapies, has drawn attention to the role that mind-body techniques and "body awareness" can play in dealing with pain.
"In any chronic pain, the coping is the big issue," said Dr. Wolf Mehling, the study author and an assistant clinical professor at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco.
The study involved 28 people with continuous low-back pain for at least three months.
During a six- to eight-week period, they underwent 12 sessions of breath therapy or physical therapy at the university.
Although physical therapy has long been considered the gold-standard treatment for such pain, the study found breath therapy to be as effective as, but no better than, physical therapy.
The breath therapy was provided by the Middendorf Institute for Breathexperience in Berkeley, Calif., which used techniques developed 70 years ago in Germany by Ilse Middendorf.
Margot Biestman, a 73-year-old breath therapist from Sausalito, Calif., recently demonstrated the technique at the institute's office in Berkeley.
Jeanine Aguerre, a 58-year-old massage therapist from Mill Valley, has periodic neck, shoulder and back pain.
She tried hypnotherapy, yoga and meditation before settling on breath therapy.
Aguerre later said the tears came after her "armor" of pain and tension began to soften.
Mehling noted that many Eastern philosophies focus on breathing or body awareness, including yoga, tai chi, Zen meditation and Tibetan Buddhism.
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