ONE-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF EXERCISES IN CHILDREN WITH ALLERGIC ASTHMA

Aim:- To study the effect of exercises in childhood allergic asthma, and to reveal their optimal frequency, intensity, and duration, because of missing consensus about them. Material and Methods:- 12 children (age 11.17 ± 2.69 years) with allergic asthma were followed for one year. At the beginning and the end of the year, they were treated for 10 days with low daily doses of inhaled corticosteroids and exercises (breathing retraining, respiratory muscle training, and musculoskeletal flexibility with posture/balance training). The children and their parents were instructed to continue the same exercises at home as frequently, intensely, and prolong as possible for one year. Standard spirometry was performed four times – at the beginning and the end of the two 10-day treatment courses. The results were recorded as percentages of the actual versus the predicted spirometric parameters. MANOVA with Bonferronis multiple comparison post-hoc tests and Pearsons correlation with multiple regression post-hoc tests were used for the statistical analysis. Results:- The spirometric parameters showed a significant improvement at the end of each 10-day treatment course versus at the beginning (P<0.05), as well as at the end of the year versus at the beginning (P<0.05). There was a significant correlation of the spirometric parameters versus the exercise frequency (P<0.05) and versus the exercise intensity (P<0.05), but not versus the exercise duration (P>0.05). The regression analysis revealed that with increasing the exercise intensity and frequency (at least once daily) the spirometric parameters are improving significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion:- Exercises significantly improve the spirometric parameters in children with allergic asthma. The optimal exercise frequency is at least once daily with high intensity and short duration.