Breathing is a thoughtless basic movement in our daily lives that is engrained into our nervous system from birth. Unfortunately breathing is one of the most common (if not THE most common) dysfunctional movement patterns in todays society. Our obsession with having a midsection that looks slim (sucking in) combined with poor posture and daily stress is the perfect storm for interrupting proper diaphragmatic breathing mechanics.
It’s just breathing… Why should it matter how I breathe? Well poor breathing habits can cause a
whole slew of musculoskeletal problems from neck pain, TMJ dysfunction,
shoulder pain, and low back pain just to name a few. Not to mention the stress placed on the body to “fight” for
air. Have you found yourself randomly
taking in deep breathes throughout the day? Guess what, you probably do not breathe properly.
Correct breathing should demonstrate the use of the
diaphragm and show the entire midsection (the entire belly, lateral obliques,
and even the posterior obliques) expanding in a 360 deg fashion with very
minimal, if any movement of the chest and shoulders. Ask someone to take a deep breath and usually you will see
the shoulders shrug and the entire chest expand upon inhalation. Most often the belly will expand
secondary to the chest being filled up and sometimes the belly will be drawn in
closer to the spine on inhalation.
This drawing in on inhalation is the most dysfunctional breathing
pattern and shows that they primarily use the secondary muscles of respiration
upon inhalation.
Next time you’re at the gym, watch someone who is
doing a high intensity exercise and observe their breathing pattern when they
are finished. It will most likely
be all chest with the shoulders shrugging. Now if you take that same person and teach them the correct
way to breathe, they will recover their “wind” much faster than the gasping
struggle they are used to.
Curious
if you breathe correctly? Here are
a few quick evaluations to see if you are.
1. Lay down flat on your back
with your legs straight and your shirt pull up exposing your entire
abdomen. If your ribs are
“sticking out” that’s a telltale sign that you do not use your diaphragm
properly during respiration.
2. In the same resting position
as above, have a friend record you breathing at your regular rate and then
taking full deep breathes in and out.
This will show you if you are using your diaphragm (belly first) or the
secondary muscles of respiration (chest first) for breathing.
3. Sit upright with your hips
and knees at 90 deg and your shirt pulled up exposing the entire abdomen and
back. Have a friend record your
breathing from this position from the front and then from the side. Again look for the dysfunctional
movements mentioned earlier.
A
quick way to become more aware of breathing with your diaphragm is to lay on
your back with your feet flat and close to your
glutes. Place one hand on your
chest and the other hand on your belly.
Now when you breathe in, try not to move the hand on the chest and only
move the hand on the belly. Seems
simple right… Try it.
The
clinical breathing assessment and corrections I use in the office is a lot more
in-depth and complicated (and effective), but this is a simple start to become
aware of your poor breathing habits.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me at drd@maxperformchiro.com or contact us via our website: www.maxperformchiro.com. Also, head over to our Facebook Page and give us a "Like!" Thank you!
