Physical Activity Interventions in Asthma Management

Physical activity interventions are emerging as a crucial adjunct to pharmacological therapy in asthma management. Regular structured exercise and lifestyle approaches aim to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, reduce airway inflammation and enhance overall well-being. Interventions range from aerobic training and strength exercises to multimodal pulmonary rehabilitation programmes. Mechanistically, exercise may attenuate chronic airway inflammation by modulating proinflammatory cytokines and improving autonomic function. Improved ventilatory efficiency, enhanced skeletal muscle performance and reduction in comorbid obesity also contribute to better symptom control and fewer exacerbations. In paediatric populations, exercise regimens have been linked to gains in lung function parameters and quality of life, whereas in adults targeted programmes can lead to clinically meaningful improvements in validated control scores. Safety considerations include monitoring bronchoconstriction during exertion, individualising intensity and ensuring appropriate warm-up routines. Despite robust evidence for benefit, implementation barriers persist, including uncertainty over optimal exercise ‘dose’, lack of training guidelines for healthcare professionals and variable access to rehabilitation services. Addressing these gaps will be essential to translate trial findings into routine care and to harness physical activity’s full potential as a disease-modifying strategy in asthma.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A randomised controlled trial investigated a 24-week, individually tailored exercise programme combining aerobic, resistance and stretching components in adults with mild to moderate asthma. Participants engaging in thrice-weekly sessions of ≥30 minutes of aerobic activity demonstrated a 23 per cent greater improvement in asthma control scores compared with usual care. Moreover, self-reported breathlessness decreased significantly, though changes in peak expiratory flow variability were minimal. The study highlighted high adherence, absence of exercise-induced deterioration and the feasibility of integrating personalised exercise prescriptions into standard asthma care.

Physical Activity Interventions in Asthma Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in physical activity interventions in asthma management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1): the volume of air exhaled in the first second of a forced breath, an index of airway obstruction.

Forced vital capacity (FVC): the total volume of air exhaled during a forced breath, reflecting lung capacity.

Six-minute walk test (6MWT): a measure of functional exercise capacity based on distance walked in six minutes.

Pulmonary rehabilitation: a comprehensive programme combining exercise training, education and behaviour change for respiratory disease management.

Proinflammatory cytokines: signalling proteins such as interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α that mediate inflammatory responses in asthma.

References

1. Exercise Recommendations and Practical Considerations for Asthma Management—An EAACI Position Paper. Allergy (2025).
2. Feasibility of exercise therapy for children with asthma: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (2023).
3. Effects of exercise-based pulmonary rehabilitation on adults with asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Respiratory Research (2021).
4. Regular exercise improves asthma control in adults: A randomized controlled trial. Scientific Reports (2019).