Registered
Osteopathic Council
Please take a breath in and gently release.
Did you get taller on the in-breath? If you felt your shoulders lifting, you have just observed yourself using your neck and shoulder muscles to breathe in at rest. This is diagnosed as upper rib breathing a type of breathing pattern disorder. It often leads to neck and shoulder discomfort from muscle overuse.
Three quarters of adults’ are believed to have breathing pattern disorders of various types. Broadly speaking Breathing Pattern Disorders:
- Speed up your breathing rate.
- Rapid breaths excite you rather than calm you.
- An increased breathing rate signifies a stress response to your body.
Many breathing pattern disorders are linked to the fight-or-flight response. A short-term bodily reaction that for many has become a long-term way of being. A chronic stressed state that is poor for your health.
How should we breathe naturally at rest?
When breathing at rest, the diaphragm and inspiratory rib cage muscles work together. When you exhale, your diaphragm and rib muscles relax. Normal breathing is slow and regular, with no visible effort.
A good reference point is to look at any child breathe at rest… their belly protrudes a little on the in-breath yet the shoulders remain relaxed.
The main muscle used for breathing is the diaphragm. It is controlled by the phrenic nerve that travels from your neck through the space between your lungs to the diaphragm. The heart, in a sac called the pericardium, hangs from your sternum via a ligament sling and sits lightly on your diaphragm. When in a relaxed breathing state, the heart and the diaphragm form a harmonic relationship which benefits your health – referred to as coherent breathing.
Frequency
Perhaps you have been taught that deep breathing is optimal because it allows the most oxygen into the lungs. Strange as it may seem, oxygen deficiency is not caused by a lack of oxygen, but by a lack of carbon dioxide release. If we breathe too rapidly, we actually get less oxygen as we fail to release the carbon dioxide during the out breath. Normal breathing frequency at rest is about 8-12 breaths per minute. Many of us breathe much more, often up to 25 breaths per minute. This breathing habit mostly goes unnoticed, but nevertheless causes a low-grade form of hyperventilation, upsetting the oxygen and CO2 balance.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Perhaps you may have been taught that belly breathing is the key. This advise is often given to encourage people away from upper rib breathing where “accessory muscles to breathing” are used to breathe at rest. Unfortunately it is often taken too literally and/or taught out of context. The aim when breathing at rest is to use your diaphragm and intercostal muscles only. Instead of belly breathing perhaps a more accurate instruction would be to expend your lower ribs in all directions. The diaphragm attaches to your lower rib margin in a 360 degrees circle. Expand it all – not just the belly out front!
The Buteyko Breathing Method
The Buteyko Breathing Method, developed in the 1950’s by Russian medical scientist Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, teaches you how to bring your breathing volume back toward normal or, in other words, reverse what’s called chronic hyperventilation or chronic over-breathing. When your breathing is normal, you have better oxygenation of tissues and organs, including your brain.
HOW TO DO IT
The Buteyko Breathing Technique teaches you how to breathe properly through the nose (not the mouth) and with the diaphragm to improve nitric oxide and carbon dioxide levels in the body. When done properly, Buteyko breathing encourages the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a reduction of blood pressure, a reduction of stress and the strengthening of the immune system. Here are the simple steps to perform this technique.
WHY IT WORKS
Studies have shown that breathing lightly and only through the nose is the ideal technique for relaxation and optimal health. One such study on the effect of Buteyko breathing technique on patients with bronchial asthma showed a significant decrease in asthma related symptoms and a significant improvement in peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR)’.
For more posts on related subjects click below:
