Breathing
Physiotherapy With a Focus on Breathing
Breathing is fundamental to good health, well-being, and optimal performance yet you may not think much about how you breathe. We breathe 20,000 times each day. Breathing dysfunction is common, affecting one in ten people at some time in their lives. Prolonged dysfunctional breathing can cause symptoms in the body such as chronic neck and back pain, chest pain, frequent sighing, feelings of breathlessness, and feelings of an inability to get a full breath in or out.
Symptoms
- Breathlessness.
- Anxiety.
- Decreased tolerance to exercise.
- Incomplete management of asthma or COPD symptoms.
- Tingling or altered sensation of hands or feet.
- Decreased pain tolerance.
- Chest pain or tightness, heart palpitations when heart problems have been ruled out.
What Can We Do?
- Perform a specialized assessment including medical history and physical examination.
- Retrain resting breathing patterns to manage anxiety, enhance recovery, and promote sleep.
- Prescribe exercises to reduce carbon dioxide sensitivity or increase the strength of the diaphragm if needed.
- Identify any connection between dysfunctional breathing and your symptoms.
- Optimize breathing for daily activities, work, or sports.
- Address poor posture, stiff joints, or other weak muscles which may contribute to breathing limitations.