Who knew that a simple in-out process could be so complex?

How Does the Way You Breathe Affect Your Health?

In this article, we’ll look at a few different types of breathing – and examine how they affect the whole body.

Normal Breathing

Normal breathing is an automatic and seemingly effortless action. Breathing involves inspiratory (breathing in) expansion and expiratory (breathing out) contraction of the rib cage. The act of normal breathing has a relatively constant rate and volume, or amount of air that enters the lungs.

The act of breathing requires our lungs to expand as well as a series of coordinated muscle efforts from the chest wall, the rib cage, the diaphragm, and even the spine. Although we often think of our lungs as being within our chest, the tops of our lungs extend almost to the very base of our neck and shoulders.

Normal breathing involves expansion and contraction of the rib cage with our breath. Breathing also uses the diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle located at the base of our rib cage, below the lungs and heart. The diaphragm is a major muscle mover that works with the lungs to inhale and exhale. During inhalation, the lungs expand, and the diaphragm pushes down to make room for the lungs to expand with air. This presses the rib cage outward. During exhalation, the diaphragm moves up, which helps move air out of your lungs and brings the ribs inward.

How Does the Way You Breathe Affect Your Health?

Paradoxical Breathing is the Enemy

When breathing issues arise and the lungs aren’t the cause, other sources like the muscles and bones must be taken into consideration. In medical literature, the term “dysfunctional breathing” refers to a group of disorders:

• Paradoxical breathing (upper chest breathing)
• Erratic breathing
• Breath holding
• Breathing too deeply or erratically (hyperventilation syndrome)

For this article, we will focus on the first: paradoxical breathing. And, while these disorders can create significant oxygenation deprivation problems, the focus of this article will be on the biomechanical effects of poor breathing mechanics.

It is important to assess breathing mechanics to determine if someone is using the appropriate muscles to engage in this vital task. Breathing is a complex activity involving the rib cage, joints of the spine and ribs, ligaments, connective tissues, muscles, and the lungs. Breathing performance is drastically affected if one or more of these structures are injured, damaged, or otherwise unable to work properly. One such common condition is upper chest breathing. You see, not only does the way you breathe affect your health, but where your breath is focused does as well.

What is Chest Breathing?

Paradoxical breathing, or chest breathing, is a sign that you aren’t breathing properly. During paradoxical breathing during inhalation, the lungs still expand, but the diaphragm contracts. During exhalation, the lungs relax, but the diaphragm expands.

As a result, chest and neck muscles become overactivated. This targeted group of muscles work together to compensate for the diaphragm. They help inflate the lungs by pulling on the rib cage to expand the upper portion.

By itself, chest breathing is not necessarily a bad or pathological condition. We see certain scenarios for chest breathing: some examples include a sudden sprint across a lawn or anxiety while taking a test. However, when chest breathing becomes our normal breathing method, the result is the upper chest expanding and contracting with each breath while the abdominal area doesn’t function properly.

What Can Happen from Chest Breathing?

Chest-focused breaths tend to be short and quick. Chest breathing uses only a small portion of the lungs and delivers a relatively minimal amount of oxygen to the bloodstream. The result is poor oxygenation to the body’s soft tissues.

In addition, excessive chest breathing causes the muscles of the chest, neck, upper back, and lower back to work too much. This can lead to tightness and strain to these areas due to overuse. These extra, or accessory, breathing muscles in the chest and lower neck still have other responsibilities besides helping with our breathing activity. The result is tight, achy muscles that aren’t effective at either job. The upper back and thoracic spine may also become stiff due to poor muscle engagement from the diaphragm, resulting in muscle tightness. Sometimes, this can even extend into the lower back!

Chest breathing is a form of diaphragmatic dysfunction that can have many causes including trauma to the chest wall, mineral deficiencies, weak respiration muscles, sleep apnea, and nerve injury.

Symptoms of Chest Breathing Can Include:

• Frequently waking up at night
• Shortness of breath
• Excessive sleepiness that doesn’t correspond to additional sleep
• Diminished or poor exercise performance
• Muscle soreness in the neck and chest
• Abnormally fast breathing
• Poor posture in the upper back
• Rounded shoulder posture

Tight musculature along the front of the neck

Do I Have Chest Breathing?

Maybe. Here is a simple test and exercise you can do at home to improve your breathing.

Description: Breathing test to assess if patient is a stomach breather or chest breather.
How to perform:

• Lay on a comfortable surface on your back with your knees bent
• Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your stomach
• Take 5 normal deep breaths and take notice of your breathing

Up to 80% of breathing should come from the belly rising and falling; 20% should come from the chest rising and falling.

Chest breathing is more dominant than belly breathing when the belly barely moves. Here, the upper chest expands more than the abdomen, and the shoulders elevate towards the ears during inspiration. Excessive chest breathing causes overuse of the neck musculature and can lead to pain syndromes in the neck, shoulders, and upper back.

What Can I Do to Change My Chest Breathing?

There are a few quick exercises you can perform to help begin retraining your diaphragm and other breathing muscles to work effectively. Here’s a common one:

Corrections for a Chest Breather:

• Place a light book over the stomach and focus on elevating and lowering it during inspiration and expiration
• Lay on back
• Push belly outward
• Pull belly button down towards floor
• Repeat ten repetitions for two sets

If your chest breathing has occurred over time or because of trauma, nerve injury, or other causes, other interventions may be required. However, it is not uncommon to manage this condition with targeted exercises, postural improvements, and even changes to your workplace setup to help proper muscle function.

How We Address Chest Breathing

Our goal is to not only provide you with the correct diagnosis of your breathing pattern, but also determine the underlying root cause and create an individualized treatment plan specifically for you. We have many tools in our toolbox to conduct an effective evaluation and create an appropriate treatment. That way, you can answer the question, “does the way you breathe affect your health?” with, “of course it does – and it affects it in a good way.”

A few tools include:

• Specific stretches
• Joint mobilization of the spine and ribs
• Specific exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles
• Hands-on soft tissue work
• Changes in exercise routine or modifications at work or at home
• Home exercise and stretching programs
• … and more

All of these depend on if your chest breathing is caused by poor biomechanics of the muscles and joints. If there has been trauma to the chest wall, such as a motor vehicle accident, a full examination is imperative and may require imaging. The best way to determine your treatment approach is to make an appointment in our office for a full evaluation.

If you are dealing with poor exercise performance due to chest breathing, muscle tightness of the chest wall, upper back, or neck, excessive daytime sleepiness, or other symptoms of chest breathing, give us a call. We are happy to evaluate you and often can provide you with a same-day examination! Call our office at (706) 841-9969 or schedule online at www.backtohealthchiropractor.com today.

If you are dealing with poor exercise performance due to chest breathing, muscle tightness of the chest wall, upper back, or neck, excessive daytime sleepiness, or other symptoms of chest breathing, give us a call. We are happy to evaluate you and often can provide you with a same-day examination! Call our office at (706) 841-9969 or schedule online today.

The post Does the Way You Breathe Affect Your Health? appeared first on Back to Health Chiropractic.

This will build a set of corrective exercises and stretches you can implement to your daily routine. We realize there are different types of corrective exercises to strengthen your lower back. We have provided you with just a sampling of beginner level correctives. More advanced solutions should be supervised by a doctor to take any red flags into consideration.

8 Most Effective Exercises to Strengthen Your Lower Back

Cross-Crawl (Bird Dog Alternating Arm & Leg)

• Begin on your hands and knees in a quadruped position.
• While abdominally bracing, slowly extend your right leg and left arm into a fully straightened “bird dog” position.
• Hold this contraction for two seconds before returning to touch your right hand to your left knee and repeating for ten repetitions before switching sides.
• Keep your abdominals engaged the entire time and do not arch your back or twist your hips at any point

Glute Bridge

• Lay on your back on an exercise mat or the floor in a bent-knee position with your feet flat on the floor.
• Place your feet hip-width apart with the toes facing away from you.
• Gently contract your abdominal muscles to flatten your low back into the floor. Attempt to maintain this gentle muscle contraction throughout the exercise.
• Gently exhale. Keep the abdominals engaged and, pressing through your heels, lift your hips up off the floor until your body is in a straight line between your knees and shoulders.
• Avoid pushing your hips too high, which can cause hyperextension (arching) in your low back.
• Lowering Phase: Inhale and slowly lower yourself back to your starting position.

Single Leg Glute Bridge

• Lay on your back on an exercise mat or the floor in a bent-knee position with your feet flat on the floor.
• Raise one leg off the ground, pulling the knee to your chest. This will be your starting position.
• Execute the movement by driving through the heel, extending your hip upward and raising your glutes off the ground.
• Extend as far as possible without arching your back, pause and then return to the starting position.
• Repeat for 10-15 repetitions.

Front Plank

• Lay face down with your elbows bent directly under your shoulders and your knees bent.
• Engage your abdominals and raise your body off the ground onto your elbows and knees.
• Maintain a straight spine, chin tucked, and abdominal brace. Do not allow hips to drop or spine to arch!
• Hold this position for 30 seconds or to fatigue.
• Once you can perform with ease, change from a knee position to a toe position.

Side Plank

• Begin lying on your side, resting your weight on your forearm and feet with your elbow directly under your shoulder.
• Have your legs stacked one on top of the other and lift your hips forward and up to the ceiling until your body is straight keeping your shoulders, hips, and ankles in a line.
• Engage your abdominals while holding this position for 30-60 seconds or to fatigue.
• Repeat on the opposite side.

Standing Back Extensions

• Stand up, with your feet about hip-width apart, and place your hands on top of your pelvis (the back of your hips).
• Keep your knees straight as you gently bend until you can feel a mild to moderate stretch in your lower abdominals.
• Return to the starting position and repeat ten times, trying to extend slightly farther back each time.
• If you experience low back pain or discomfort when extending back, only extend back until you “touch discomfort.”
• Stop this exercise immediately if you notice increased radiating pain into your leg

Triplanar Hip Flexor Stretch

• Begin standing in a “lunge” position with one leg back until a stretch is felt in your hip.
• Lunge forward to increase the stretch in your hip. Hold this position for two or three seconds and return to neutral.
• Slowly lunge forward ten times, each time increasing the stretch.
• Perform ten additional repetitions of increased stretch by rotating your body away from your back leg.
• Perform a final set of 10 repetitions of increased stretch by raising your arm on the same side and rotating your body away while performing lunges.

Single Leg Deadlift

• Begin by holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in one arm by your side.
• Transfer your body weight to the leg opposite the arm holding the weight with your knee bent only slightly.
• Slowly flex forward from the hips on your stance leg while moving your chest and the dumbbell toward the floor.
• Keep your back and kicking leg straight while keeping your glutes and core tight.
• Once a stretch along your glutes and hamstrings is felt, pause at the bottom, and then nearly return to the top.
• Repeat for 10-15 repetitions before switching to the opposite leg.

These are all helpful exercises to strengthen your lower back. However, they may not be completely effective on your own. For that reason, chiropractic care is a great resource to relieve your low back pain. Contact Back to Health Chiropractic today!

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These are a sampling of some daily activities that you may encounter. We encourage you to practice and apply the body preparation and positioning described above. “Sternum Up”, “Power Zone” and “Abdominal Bracing” should be utilized to protect and spare the spine.

The below images and descriptions were resourced from The Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (2004) pages 8, 85–87 written by Craig Liebenson, DC.

Low Back Pain Prevention Techniques

Hip Hinge

• Keep the spine upright by hinging from the hips as you bend your knees
• Maintain all three points of contact as you move to an upright position

Going From Sitting to Standing

• Start in a seated position at the edge of your chair with your feet under your thighs before sitting up
• To initiate movement, begin upward movement by using your hips and knees
• To avoid strain to your back, keep your torso upright when rising from the chair.

Picking Up a Bag Off the Ground

• When picking up a bag from the ground, bend from the hips and knees.
• Make sure to keep the back flat and keep lower back’s natural curve by keeping it curved forward while bending.
• When lifting, initiate the movement by keeping the back flat while extending with the hips, and tightening the glutes.

Brushing Your Teeth

• Keep your chest upright while brushing the teeth.
• When you bend forward to rinse your brush or mouth bend from the hips, not from the waist.
• Keep your chest lifted while you bend forward.

Changing a Diaper

• Before changing your baby ensure that you have a changing station that is the appropriate height.
• If it is too low (below your waist), you will be forced to bend forward from the waist.
• The correct height is approximately waist high and allows you to maneuver your baby without having to bend much.

Picking Up Objects From the Ground

• When lowering to pick up the object, bend from the knees and keep your chest lifted.
• When lifting keep your spine upright by hinging from the hips and knees.
• If the object is not directly in front of you, it is important to keep your chest lifted in front of you while keeping your lower back’s natural curve.
• Avoid lifting immediately after sitting for a prolonged period.

Body Preparation & Positioning

Keeping the sternum up automatically sets the body into the good posture and maintains:

Neutral Spine: Maintaining good spinal alignment decreases the stress placed on the spine and discs.

Hip Hinging: Bending at the hips – and not the low back – decreases the stress placed on the low back and increases strength & power.

1. Power Zone
   The zone that will optimize lifting strength and injury reduction.
   • Bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle, and you are in the “Primary Power Zone.”
   • The area up to the shoulders and down to the hips is acceptable.
   • The more you can work in the “power zone” the less fatigue on your body
     
2. Abdominal Bracing- When all of your core muscles work together, a “Super Sti­ffness” occurs, and all three layers of the abdominal wall are activated to protect and stabilize the spine and discs.
   • Without bending forward, contract the abdominal muscles (like you are about the get punched in your gut – feel them tighten with one hand) and the buttock muscles (as if you are holding in a bowel movement). You will feel the lower back muscles contract (with the other hand) when you contract your abs and buttocks.
     

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For that reason, it’s no wonder that Americans spend billions of dollars yearly to relieve these mental health issues. Most of that amount goes toward psychiatric care and medications.

However, when it comes to mental health care, chiropractic care is an effective partner to other types of therapy. Chiropractic care can help reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Let’s look at the link between your mind and your body – and how it affects mental health.

Where Can Anxiety and Depression Come From?

We can’t directly trace anxiety and depression to a single cause. These mental health conditions develop over time and from many factors. According to researchers, genetics is involved. But your family history is just a small part of the story. Stress, circumstances, and trauma can be involved.

And part of the cause may be physical – an existing medical condition.

As you deal with mental health, especially if you suspect you may have an illness, please hear this: you’re not alone. Many people struggle from similar emotions, thoughts, and responses. You should absolutely see a mental health professional. Therapy is a powerful tool to help bring relief. And medication has been useful and beneficial to many people. Not as a default, because side effects can be a struggle in themselves. Talk with your doctor about any concerns you may have.

As you seek mental health and focus on your mind, remember your body as well.

How Can Your Body Affect Your Mind?

For years, the symptomatic connection between mind and body was known but not proven academically. Until research into Irritable Bowel Syndrome. While being treated as a digestive disorder for so many years, IBS frustrated both patient and doctor alike. And IBS often affects many people with anxiety. After doctors started treating the mind as well as the body, IBS treatment became much more effective.

Since we know that the mind can affect the body, it makes sense that the body affects the mind. They’re intrinsically linked. When we treat both body and mind, patients find greater relief. When the body is cared for properly, the mind is relieved alongside it.

How Can Chiropractic Care Help Mental Health?

If you’re seeking care for depression or anxiety, chiropractic care may be a great help to you. If you think about it, your thoughts aren’t the only symptom you experience. You probably also have symptoms like these:

• Tension headaches
• Neck or back pain
• Weakness

These are just a few of the symptoms we find in patients with mental health concerns. And chiropractic can be a useful tool to bring you relief. Your spine and neck are the main conduit for all your body’s nerve communication. When back and neck are aligned, your whole body functions better – and this helps you to think clearly and feel more emotional stability.

Lessening stress and tension in your body brings relief to your mind to some degree. Can chiropractic care help mental health? Yes.

If you have depression or anxiety, you may be the perfect candidate for chiropractic treatment. Contact us today to schedule your consultation.

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However, arthritis is more complicated than its basic name suggests. It’s not just one disease. Doctors are aware of more than 100 unique types of arthritis – and many levels of severity. In fact, arthritis is the leading disability cause in the U.S.A. and afflicts over 50 million people.

If you have arthritis, you know how much it can hurt. But did you know how chiropractic can reduce arthritis pain? There are 2 major kinds of arthritis that regular chiropractic can help: Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

For both types, your at-home care can be supplemented by gentle, non-addictive treatment to help manage pain and discomfort.

How Chiropractic Can Reduce Arthritis Pain

When your arthritis hurts most, chiropractic care can step in with relief and pain management. Based on your condition, your chiropractor may be able to safely give you an alternative to those addictive pain meds. If approved for treatment, you’ll receive gentle adjustments to lessen painful joint restrictions.

With every patient suffering from arthritis, we hope to reduce inflammation and increase the function of joints and nervous system alike. This helps your body to respond to symptoms better and start to manage your arthritis on its own.

Besides reduction of pain and inflammation, you may also gain:

• Better range of motion
• More flexibility
• Higher desire to be active

Is Chiropractic Care Right for You?

If your doctor agrees that you’re a good candidate, come in to Back to Health Chiropractic. You can click here to schedule your appointment. You’ll get a free consultation, exam, and x-rays to discover how chiropractic can help arthritis – in your specific case. We hope to help you find relief from arthritis pain.

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First, we need to know what allergies are in general.

What Causes Allergies?

A functioning immune system does two things: recognize harmful substances and remove the threat. Inflammation, sneezing, cough­ing, and runny noses come as a result.

Even if a substance is harmless for most people, it can cause an allergic response. In that case, your allergies don’t come from “pollen” (or lactose, or gluten … etc.) – they come from your body’s interpretation of that substance. Your immune system treats it like a threat.

Can Chiropractic Help Relieve Allergies?

The benefits of chiropractic care on the human nervous system have been detailed in many places. It comes as no surprise that time after time, chiropractic patients notice relief of their allergies with regular treatment. Can chiropractic help relieve allergies, then? The answer would seem to be yes.

Here’s why.

Misaligned or less functional vertebral movements can irritate the spine, causing a focused irritation. This sends an abnormal signal to your central nervous system. When your system receives this faulty signal from the same pathway that normal messages would be sent along, your body interprets the information as a threat, and tries to eradicate the “threat.”

Two Things are Important to Remember

1. Scientific research has shown that chiropractic adjustments don’t relieve symptoms in all allergy sufferers.
2. Chiropractic definitely relieves allergies in some patients.

So … yes, chiropractic can relieve allergies! And it’s worth a shot. If it doesn’t work, at least you’ll know you made an informed choice. Anecdotally speaking, our patients tell us time after time that they notice their allergies diminish and relief of symptoms after an adjustment. When the body is in harmony, it puts many things right that can’t be pinned down by a double-blind study.

If you’re an allergy sufferer, consider chiropractic care at Back to Health Chiropractic. You just may be glad you did. Call us at (706) 841-9969 or fill out our contact form here today.

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As we move into spring, weather changes can cause sinus pain and pressure. And we know what that means – headaches. If your sinus pain and pressure are giving you headaches that get in your way, you know how it can keep you from living your optimal life. But there’s good news! Chiropractic can help sinus pain and pressure in many patients. 

Chiropractic Can Help Sinus Pain and Pressure and Bring Relief  

Because chiropractic can help sinus pain and pressure, we want everyone to benefit from it. Here’s what you need to know: 

• Sinus pain comes from sinusitis 
• Chiropractic adjustment can bring relief 
• Chiropractic may even be able to prevent further symptoms by addressing the cause 

What is Sinusitis? 

Sinusitis is the medical term for inflamed sinuses. Allergies, the common cold, and any other illness that causes increased mucous can be the beginning of sinusitis. When fluid backs up in your sinuses for long enough, infection is inevitable. Pain and pressure follow. Without treatment, it will stick around. If ignored, it can even become chronic. Fortunately, chiropractic may even help alleviate chronic sinusitis.  

What is The Solution? 

Chiropractic sinus adjustment. Not only can your chiropractor adjust your neck and back – we can even adjust facial bones. If we adjust facial bones that are out of line, we can improve sinus drainage. Another area we look at is your spine, particularly your neck. If a vertebra is misaligned, it can get in your nervous system’s way. Once we address these two areas, your sinuses may drain more quickly. This is how chiropractic can help sinus pain and pressure. 

What is the Real Cause? 

Sinusitis is not the cause of pain and pressure. Yes, you wouldn’t have the pain if it weren’t for sinusitis. But it’s also caused by another condition: blockage of your nervous system. Because your body’s function relies on your nervous system, by improving your nervous system’s communication, you can make your whole body work better. That includes your sinuses. 

Chiropractic can help sinus pain and pressure by treating the cause, not the symptoms. It’s a long-term solution, not just a quick fix. 

Do you suffer from sinus pain and pressure? Chiropractic can help you live your optimal life. Tell us about your symptoms during your next visit. We may be able to offer not only adjustment but also some natural alternatives to allergy medication. Find relief at Back to Health Chiropractic today.

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