Back to the Basics: Breathing

Contributed by: Marquette Physical Therapy

Did you know that we can breathe incorrectly? 

I know what you’re thinking: “How?? That is crazy. I’m not even in control of it”.

Although breathing is involuntary (meaning our bodies automatically breathe for us), we still can train our diaphragm (breathing muscle), ribs, and posture to be more efficient so other areas of our body do not compensate. So let's get back to the basics with our breathing.

Poor posture (especially prolonged), stress, injury/pain, and excessive exercise can lead to incorrect breathing patterns. Two incorrect patterns I see most often are chest and belly breathing. 

• With chest breathing, the shoulders and chest move up and down. This makes the neck muscles work overtime to lift the rib cage so air can fill the lungs. In this instance, the diaphragm is not doing its job. 

• With belly breathing, the stomach pushes out and in, putting excessive pressure on the diaphragm and not utilizing the expansion + recoil mechanism of our ribs. Our lungs don’t even go down to our belly, so this just doesn’t make sense. 

Proper breathing technique is a 360° Rib Expansion. Imagine a circle wrapping around your torso, like a bra strap, traveling around your entire body in an entire 360°. This circle should expand into a larger circle as you inhale and recoil into a smaller circle as you exhale. 

To practice, as demonstrated in the video, put your hands on the front and back ribs.  Both hands should move away from your body on the inhale. Similarly, put both hands on either side of the ribs. Both hands should move toward your body on the exhale. This is hard. Practice this in a mirror. The breaths do not need to be super deep. Add a stretchy exercise band around your torso to give yourself tactile feedback to assist rib expansion. 

Practice for at least 2 minutes at a time to enforce neurological learning. Practice often for quickest results. Correct breathing can help with blood pressure, increasing endorphins, stress, posture, flexibility, etc. Don't give up!

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Dealing with pain or injury? Need help returning to activities you love? You do NOT need a physician’s prescription to see a physical therapist in the state of Kansas and yes, insurance still applies (check if your state has a similar practice law - in some states you still need a physician's prescription to see a PT). Marquette Physical Therapy has two locations - Leawood & De Soto, KS. We treat one-on-one with a focus on manual therapies with specialties in Graston Technique™, Dry Needling, Pelvic Floor, Vestibular/Concussion, golf, and diagnostic ultrasound.

Marquette Physical Therapy Contact Information:

• Find us at: www.marquettept.com  

• Call us at 913-484-7632.

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