Treatment of chronic breathing pattern disorders/hyperventilation syndromes.

Aussie physiotherapists are way behind New Zealand when it comes to the treatment of chronic breathing pattern disorders/hyperventilation syndromes.

Dinah recently presented a paper at the Australian Cardio-thoracic Clinical Interest Group annual conference in Brisbane. The topic was the physiotherapy assessment and treatment of these common disorders. Australian physiotherapists don't seem to treat this common and distressing disorder, and as a group, had very little knowledge of what it is and how to treat it. One physiotherapist from Perth reported being actively discouraged from providing treatment to a patient she diagnosed with chronic disordered breathing.

It's a very different picture in the UK where Dinah traveled after the conference, to promote the British publication of 'Breathing Works for Asthma' (Kyle Cathie) co-authored by Dinah and Tania.

Dr Mike Smith, who wrote the foreword to this UK edition has published in the Lancet and Thorax results of randomised controlled trials revealing that people with asthma often have co-existing breathing pattern disorders. He has recently received a major grant to study breathing retraining and its effects on people with asthma. Congratulations to Mike and his team.

A strong group of UK physiotherapists have formed a special interest group. Check their website www.physiohypervent.org.