Efficacy of abdominal breathing exercise for GERD

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Created On: 18/06/2025

This randomized controlled study aimed to evaluate the impact of strengthening the crura of the diaphragm—a component of the lower oesophagal sphincter (LES)—through abdominal breathing exercises for managing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

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Key take away

Core-focused breathing is a non-invasive, safe, and promising alternative for managing GERD, reinforcing the growing support for non-pharmacological treatment strategies.

Background

Method

This single-blind trial included 22 GERD patients (aged 18–60), randomly divided into two groups. Using the GERD-specific Quality of Life Index (QoLI) and self-reported proton pump inhibitor (PPI) usage, participants were evaluated before and after a four-week intervention. The intervention group practiced abdominal breathing exercises, while the control group performed non-LES-targeted breathing. Data were collected via interviews and analyzed with SPSS 22 using descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and independent t-tests.

Result

Participants in the intervention group demonstrated improvements in QoLI scores and a reduction in PPI usage than the control group. The paired t-test indicated statistically significant improvements within the intervention group, although the independent t-test did not reveal a notable difference between the two groups. Linear regression analysis yielded F (1,20) = 32.822, p < 0.001, with an adjusted R² of 0.603. The regression equation was y = 13.182x + 2.812, and the beta coefficient was 0.789 (p < 0.001).