You’re Breathing All Wrong! Here is the Proper Way to Breathe

The reason I’m writing this blog is because during COVID, a lot of our patients have been coming in with Neck, Mid-Back, and Low Back Pain. A couple things are causing this with the #1 cause being working from home and #2, what I’ve recently found, is how people are breathing! During these tough times, it has caused a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. There is a big unknown factor occurring during this pandemic and people are compensating with unhealthy breathing habits.

Here is the Normal/Proper way to breathe:

Chest Breathing vs. Belly Breathing

When you are breathing from the chest, that means you are taking short/quick breaths. Think of someone that is having an anxiety attack. Their shoulders constantly raise, they are unable to take a full breath in, they sweat, etc. What this does is cause a lot of stress on the ribs and mid-back bones. The ribs connect to your thoracic spine, so when there is a lot of stress put on that area, we see misalignments of thoracic spine and maybe even a rib or two.

Common Symptoms Associated w/ Bad Breathing Habits

1. Neck Pain
2. Mid-Upper Back Pain
3. Trapezius tightness
4. Chest pain
5. Sharp/Stabbing pain or difficulty when breathing
6. Tightness between the shoulder blades
7. Feeling like you can’t take a full breath in
8. Pain wrapping around the side of your body

Follow these exercises to create healthy breathing habits!

Exercise Laying Down

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and a pillow under your head.
2. Place a pillow under your knees to support your legs.
3. Put one hand on your upper chest and the other below your rib cage so you can feel the movement of your diaphragm.
4. Inhale slowly through your nose, feeling your stomach expand to press into your hand.
5. Keep the hand on your chest as still as possible.
6. Engage your stomach muscles and draw them toward your spine as you exhale using pursed lips.
7. Again, keep the hand on your upper chest as still as possible.
8. Continue breathing like this for the duration of your exercise session.

Exercise Sitting in a Chair

1. Sit in a comfortable position with your knees bent.
2. Relax your shoulders, head, and neck.
3. Put one hand on your upper chest and the other below your rib cage so you can feel the movement of your diaphragm.
4. Inhale slowly through your nose so that your stomach presses against your hand.
5. Keep the hand on your chest as still as possible.
6. Engage your abdominal muscles as you exhale through pursed lips, keeping the hand on your upper chest still.
7. Continue breathing like this for the duration of your exercise session.

PATIENT STORY

A 24 year old male, sedentary lifestyle, currently works from home designing apps. He sits a lot throughout the day and has been finding it hard to get up and move while working from home.

He came in with 8/10 mid-back and neck pain and could not take a full breath in. His breathing was very quick/short. He also had a dull pain that wrapped around the side of his body. His neck range of motion was very limited and had subluxations throughout his mid-back and lower neck. His 7th and 8th rib heads were also misaligned on the Right side.

His treatment consisted of adjustments to his mid-back and neck. Instantly after his adjustment he was able to take a full breath in, and his range of motion improved significantly. His pain level went from 8/10 to a 1/10.

He came in for 3 follow-up appointments with the dull ache still wrapped around the side of his body (this was due to the rib cage overworking and causing a muscle strain). Throughout those appointments, we practiced the proper way to breathe and that pain quickly went away! He currently comes in once of month for maintenance care and is keeping his joints healthy!