Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be managed. Asthma management is a public health issue that is complex. Medication, asthma triggers, age, and the environment are all factors that impact asthma management. There is a gap in research in terms of what lifestyle characteristics need to be in place in order for adults to manage asthma. Shaw found that posture care is a lifestyle variable that should be explored as it relates to asthma management in older adults. The Life University Clinic (Marietta, GA) sees asthmatic patients daily and teaches them about a posture care routine through a program called Straighten Up. Based on the health belief model, this study explored how the Straighten Up routine exercises impacted asthma management in adult asthmatic patients with severe asthma (n =304 ). Ordinal regression and logistic regression was used to analyze the relationships between using the Straighten Up posture exercises (independent variable) for 3 months with 3 dependent variables: patients' sleep patterns (night time awakenings due to asthma), use of quick relief medication, and hospitalizations (ER Visits) due to asthma. Straighten Up posture exercises reduced night time sleep interruptions, but not hospitalizations due to asthma or the use of quick relief medications. For persons with asthma, Straighten Up could be an additional tool to manage their asthma and reduce the known impacts of sleep deprivation including accidents, memory loss, and heart disease. For organizations who serve asthmatics, Straighten Up could be an additional resource to share with the population they serve. As a result of this study, Straighten Up exercises are recommended for adult asthmatics with severe asthma as part of their asthma management plan.

Airway hyperresponsivness (AHR) is one of most prominent pathophysiological features of asthma. Increasing evidence suggests that vagal bronchopulmonary afferents may be involved in the development of AHR. However, the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effect of chronic airway inflammation induced by allergen sensitization on vagal bronchopulmonary afferents. The study was carried out in an animal model of allergic asthma. Brown-Norway rats were sensitized by intraperitoneal Ovalbumin (Ova) and exposed to aerosolized Ova 3 times/week for three weeks. Control rats received the vehicle. In vivo single-fiber recording technique was applied in this study. Our results showed that chronic Ova exposure caused an elevated baseline activity of pulmonary Cfibers, and a distinctly higher sensitivity of these afferents to chemical stimulants and lung inflation. After an acute Ova inhalation challenge, the increase in baseline activity and the excitability of pulmonary C-fibers were further augmented in sensitized rats, but not in control rats. In addition, sensitivity of pulmonary myelinated afferents to capsaicin was significantly elevated after chronic airway inflammation was induced by allergen. Furthermore, immunohistochemsitry data showed that, in nodose ganglia the proportion of transient receptor potential vanilloids type 1 channels (TRPV1)-expressing bronchopulmonary neurons was significantly higher in sensitized rats than in controls. This increase of TRPV1 expression was found mainly in neurofilament-positive neurons (myelinated neurons), but this effect was absent in jugular ganglia. In conclusion, allergen-induced airway inflammation caused a pronounced sensitizing effect on vagal pulmonary non-myelinated (C-fiber) afferents and elevated the sensitivity of vagal pulmonary myelinated afferents to capsaicin. The latter was accompanied by the upregulation of TRPV1 expression in these myelinated neurons.

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