Change your breathing

Learning how to change your breathing can have a profound effect on your general health and wellbeing. Breathing is the rather vital act of supplying your body with oxygen to keep you alive. On average, you will take 20,000 breaths every day. So how we perform something that we do so frequently, and is integral to our basic survival.

Our main breathing muscle, the diaphragm, sits just below our lungs and works in conjunction with our pelvic floor muscles. It has physical connections to our spine and ribs and these connections help generate stability in our spine and mid section. With a stable mid section, or ‘core’, we are able to move the rest of our body more efficiently. This was highlighted in a study showing people who breathe predominantly using their diaphragm scored better on functional movement tests compared to upper chest breathers¹.

Are you an upper chest breather?

Do you feel you often have to take a deep breath when just sitting at rest?
Do you often feel short of breath when talking at a normal rate?

If yes, you may be an upper chest breather.

Upper chest breathers use the muscles around the neck, shoulders and chest to lift up the upper ribs to suck air in to the lungs. This is considered an inefficient breathing technique, however it is incredibly common. There are a number of causes of upper chest breathing including poor posture and muscle imbalances. Having your breathing technique assessed by your Osteopath should be considered if you suffer from neck and upper back pain, headaches or jaw pain.

Breathing is one of the few processes occurring in your body that is both voluntary and involuntary. Like digestion, breathing is automatic and will occur even when we sleep. Unlike digestion, however, you can directly control certain aspects of your breathing, such as the depth and rate of breathing, and whether you breathe using your diaphragm or your upper chest. Learning to use your diaphragm to breathe more efficiently is easy to do but takes practice to make it stick.

How to change your breathing dysfunction:

To get a basic understanding of how you breathe, lay down and place one hand on the middle of your chest and one hand on your stomach as shown below.
Breathe at your normal depth and rhythm and observe whether your top hand or bottom hand moves first as you breathe in, or if they move at the same time.
After about 30 seconds of observing, make a conscious effort to make your bottom hand move first and your top hand to move as little as possible at the very end of your breath in.

This may make you feel like you are breathing more deeply which will mean you will have to slow down your rate of breathing. By slowing your breathing you will also slow your heart rate, and if you were previously breathing with your top hand moving first, you will also decrease the muscle tension in your neck and shoulders. This exercise will have an overall calming effect on your nervous system and help you potentially focus more easily. Practicing this exercise as often as is practical throughout your day will help you breathe more efficiently in the long run. Every little bit helps, even if you only do a few breaths it will be beneficial.

For more advice and management on breathing and whether it’s a factor in your pain and injury contact Pivotal Osteopathy or book an appointment now.

^{References: ¹ Bradley H, Esformes J, Breathing Pattern Disorders and Functional Movement, The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2014.}