Effect of Pranayama on Diaphragmatic Excursion in Healthy Young Individuals

Introduction: Pranayama (yogic Breathing) helps in breath control. It is easy to perform exercise having positive influence on cardiopulmonary factors. Pranayama is a known practice for its positive benefits on the respiratory parameters and functional capacity. Diaphragm mobility is a known tool for predicting exercise tolerance. However, the effect of Pranayamic practices on the diaphragm is not yet documented, thus explaining the purpose of this study.

Aim: To assess the effect of Pranayama on diaphragmatic excursion

Method: 30 healthy females between the age group of 18-24 years practiced Pranayama for eight weeks. Diaphragmatic excursion was assessed as a measure of respiratory effort on a portable ultrasound unit.

Result: The Pretest&post test values of diaphragmatic excursion were 33.81 + 7.85&38.01 + 6.05 respectively, having "t" value -4.07&p 0.000 which was highly significant

Conclusion: Pranayama showed significant improvement in the diaphragmatic excursion assessed on real time ultrasound unit.