When was the last time you took notice of your breathing? Most of us don’t breathe well. We take short shallow breaths and tend to use our neck and shoulder muscles to help. Have you noticed that when you are slumped in front of the TV or your computer that your shoulders rise and fall with each breath? Or have you noticed that when you are stressed or rushing around that your breath becomes short and sharp? Perhaps you have noticed that you hold your breath when you bend down to lift something up or when you walk up a flight of stairs or that your belly bulges when you run for the bus?
Breathing is a fundamental part of our lives and of our spinal stability and is an automatic process and yet most of us take breathing for granted. Our breath has many important functions and poor breathing has been linked to numerous health issues such as heart disease, muscle tension, stress, chronic pain and weight gain. Breathing well ensures we have enough oxygen in our blood for our brain, organs and muscles to function.
The world is changing so quickly around us and we are all becoming busier and busier therefore learning to relax is becoming more and more important and chronic pain is becoming a large community problem. Often we look for a physical reason for our pain and some days it might just be because we are stressed and rushing around and forgetting to breathe properly.
Our breath is an important part of our spinal stability. Our stabilising corset is like a cylinder with a lid and a base. The walls of the corset are our deep abdominal muscles, the base is our pelvic floor and the lid is our diaphragm. When we breathe well, filling the air all the way to the bases of our lungs and rib cage, we allow our diaphragm to work with our pelvic floor for effective core control.
Several studies have documented the relationship between the lid, base and walls of our corset and how they function when we have pain or are pain free. A recent Canadian study found that up to 60% of people with chronic low back pain have altered breathing patterns when performing certain physical activities. Interestingly they found that the altered breathing was not related to pain severity. So whether you have mild, grumbly pain or intense ‘let me go to bed’ pain, chances are you are not breathing well.
Breathing is a fundamental part of our lives and of our spinal stability and is an automatic process and yet most of us take breathing for granted. Our breath has many important functions and poor breathing has been linked to numerous health issues such as heart disease, muscle tension, stress, chronic pain and weight gain. Breathing well ensures we have enough oxygen in our blood for our brain, organs and muscles to function.
The world is changing so quickly around us and we are all becoming busier and busier therefore learning to relax is becoming more and more important and chronic pain is becoming a large community problem. Often we look for a physical reason for our pain and some days it might just be because we are stressed and rushing around and forgetting to breathe properly.
Our breath is an important part of our spinal stability. Our stabilising corset is like a cylinder with a lid and a base. The walls of the corset are our deep abdominal muscles, the base is our pelvic floor and the lid is our diaphragm. When we breathe well, filling the air all the way to the bases of our lungs and rib cage, we allow our diaphragm to work with our pelvic floor for effective core control.
Several studies have documented the relationship between the lid, base and walls of our corset and how they function when we have pain or are pain free. A recent Canadian study found that up to 60% of people with chronic low back pain have altered breathing patterns when performing certain physical activities. Interestingly they found that the altered breathing was not related to pain severity. So whether you have mild, grumbly pain or intense ‘let me go to bed’ pain, chances are you are not breathing well.
So the next time you catch yourself slumping, rushing around and/or stressing or just wondering what you did to aggravate your pain, tell yourself to STOP, sit or stand up straight and take three long slow breaths. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel.
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