Patients with chronic low back pain over a period of time tend to develop dysfunction in their respiratory capacity due to weakness of the low back muscles. Patients are more inclined to assume breathing problems during lifting tasks and activities that require the patient to work a lot. This is because when a person inhales more air, pressure is generated in the abdomen, which is supported by the abdominal and back muscles, and when the muscles are weak, the support system does not work properly, resulting in breathing difficulties. And patients suffering from chronic lower back pain will have incorrect breathing, causing stiffness in the ribs and restricting inhalation. The loss of muscle flexibility and weakness allows stale air to become trapped in the lungs, which restricts any fresh oxygen from entering the body, leading to more pain and discomfort.
Respiratory movements can have an effect on bodily functions and responses that the body cannot control (e.g. pain). Normal breathing leads to muscle relaxation in the body and on both sides of the mid-back. Therefore, breathing exercises can be a treatment for chronic low back pain.
The muscles involved in breathing exercises include: diaphragm, intercostal muscles, transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, lumbar square, iliopsoas, sternocleidomastoid, oblique, rhomboid, and thoracic major and minor muscles. Let’s watch the video below to make it more straightforward.
The use of muscles in breathing
What is a good breathing pattern?
A good breathing pattern should involve both thoracic and abdominal postures. This is because training only thoracic breathing leads to underuse of the diaphragm, the main respiratory muscle, and overuse of the secondary respiratory muscles (upper trapezius, trapezius, scapular lift, etc.), which is the cause of many people’s shoulder and neck pain. And training only abdominal breathing can cause problems with the ribs and the mobility of the thoracic spine due to the lack of expansion of the upper chest, which may trigger pain in the lower back and neck.
In a good breathing pattern, the diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles in the torso should be horizontal, when the diaphragm, pelvic floor and transverse abdominal muscles regulate the optimal intra-abdominal pressure, leaving the lumbar spine and pelvis in a stable state. If abnormal activity of the diaphragm occurs during breathing (e.g. when inhaling or holding the breath, it cannot descend sufficiently), it will put the thoracic cavity and pelvic floor in an abnormal position, resulting in insufficient intra-abdominal pressure and too much anterior curvature of the lumbar spine, which is a potential factor in the formation of lumbar pain.
3D breathing training method
We quote “Happy Me or Sad Mi?” to illustrate, and the picture below left “Happy” is 3D breathing.
In Sad Mi breathing, the breath is always shallow, only reaching the upper edge of the thorax, and muscle tension is concentrated in the shoulders and neck. Happy Me uses deep breathing to make gas exchange more efficient, bringing more oxygen and naturally refreshing.
How to do 3D breathing exercises
Part 1
1.Lie down naturally on a hard surface (as shown below) with your arms and legs relaxed and stretched out, palms facing up.
2, close your eyes, do not adjust your body posture, focus all your energy to feel your body. Feel what parts of your body are touching the ground, and what parts are not touching the ground.
3, feel your head, the ideal state of your head touch the ground in the place directly behind the nose, and then feel your neck, the ideal state of your neck should not touch the ground at all, at the same time, your neck has a sense of tension?
4, feel your torso part, ideally your ribs should be natural to the ground, your two arms touching the ground pressure is the same. Then feel the middle of your upper back, do your ribs have a steady fit on the ground? Or can you clearly feel the edge of the shoulder blades on both sides?
5, using your navel as a reference point, from the navel to the scapula part of the ground? Ideally this part of the point back is gently relaxed on the ground, while the part below the navel, that is, your lower back is off the ground.
6, feel your pelvis, you to the two buttocks is an even contact with the ground? Do you feel your tailbone compressing the ground? Do you feel the uneven pressure of the two buttocks touching the ground?
7, feel your thighs, ideally, the back of your thighs, calves, heels are in contact with the ground, while the back of your knees, ankles are and ground clearance. In addition, pay attention to feel if one leg is more pressure than the other leg contacting the ground.
8, divide your body into left and right sides, feel if one side of the perception is clearer than the other side, or if one side is heavier than the other. If your GPS system is working properly, you should feel that both sides are very balanced.
9. Take a deep breath in and feel if your rib cage is fully and naturally expanding outward, or if you can feel the tension?
Part 2
Note: Before you start, you need to find a long enough foam shaft, the length should exceed the length from the top of your head to the tailbone, must not be too hard, if you can’t find a soft foam shaft, use your yoga mat, or a large towel at home to roll into a shaft, must be long enough to be used.
1, as follows, sit with your hips on one end of the soft foam shaft (or rolled up yoga mat), sit a little bit, and then slowly lie down, so that your entire spine lies smoothly on the shaft, pay attention to the head must be well supported, can not fall from the shaft, hands as shown on the ground.
2, after lying down, imagine that your whole person is fixed on the shaft, and then let the body and the shaft together with the left and right rocking, rocking about 30 seconds of time, feel whether the body falls to one side of the time than falling to the other side of the time easier? 30 seconds to return to a balanced position to lie down. (This kind of rocking can make your GPS from the negative idle into a positive work state, so that it begins to actively protect and support your balance.)
3, feel your torso is a hexahedral box, front and back, left and right, upper and lower. In the picture below, place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Then, focusing on the front and back sides of your torso, with each inhale feel your torso expand outward in these two directions and only in these two directions, and with each exhale feel your torso contract inward in these two directions and only in these two directions. No need to take a deep breath, the ordinary degree of breathing is good, pay attention to focus on the feeling of expansion and contraction of these two sides of the body, in this feeling for 5 breaths.
4, the following figure, put both hands on both sides of the rib cage, focus on the left and right sides of your torso two face, each inhalation feel your torso in and only in these two directions outward expansion, each exhalation feel your torso in and only in these two face inward contraction. No need to take a deep breath, the ordinary degree of breathing is good, pay attention to focus on the feeling of expansion and contraction of these two sides of the body, in this feeling for 5 breaths.
5, the following figure, put one hand on the connection between the neck and torso, the other hand on the pelvic floor, focus on the top and bottom of your torso two faces, each inhalation feel your torso in and only in these two directions outward expansion, each exhalation feel your torso in and only in these two faces inward contraction. There is no need to take deep breaths, an ordinary level of breathing is fine, pay attention to the sensation of focusing on the expansion and contraction of these two sides of your body, and take 5 breaths in this sensation.
6, through 3, 4, 5 three steps, you have felt three different dimensions of breathing, now we have to put these three dimensions of expansion and contraction together, 3D breathing. In the picture below, place your two hands naturally on your abdomen, and with each inhale feel your body expand outward from six sides, and with each exhale feel your body contract inward from six sides. To enhance this experience, you can make a “hiss~~~” sound when you inhale and a “ha~~~” sound when you exhale, especially when you feel a subtle contraction of the muscles from the six sides of your torso at the end of each exhalation. This sense of contraction is a subconscious contraction. Take 5 breaths with this feeling.
7. Repeat step 6 of the 3D breathing process 3 times, that is, 5 breaths as a group, and perform 3 groups. Each time carefully feel the expansion and contraction from all directions of the torso, starting with conscious control of this 3D breathing, and slowly try to complete the 3D breathing through the subconscious.
8, this last step is very important to repeat the content of “Part 1” carefully again, it is necessary to carry out this step can not be ignored, so that your little satellites to remember the results of this calibration. If you find that there is an imbalance between the left and right side of the body, that the ribs are not well grounded, or that there is a significant pressure on the edge of the shoulder blades during the first “satellite check-in”, then these will change during the second “satellite check-in”.
Warm reminder: this training must be very strict, Part 1 and Part 2 can not be missing a step. If you can’t find a soft foam shaft, you should roll up a large towel with a diameter of about 12 cm and a length of at least 12 cm from the top of the head to the tailbone to ensure good support from the head to the pelvis. If your body is sick and alive, be sure to consult a doctor before training. It is appropriate to train 3 to 4 times a week.
Balloon blowing training method
Action contraindicated people: hypertensive patients
Bend knees and hips 90 degrees, foot stirrups wall, between the knee joint can be placed a ball or foam shaft, slight force, activate the pelvic drop muscle. Keep the waist flat against the bed, one hand holding the balloon, one hand and the torso at an angle of 90 degrees in the air, force a complete inhalation and exhalation to blow the balloon round. Each group blow the balloon full and breathe normally once, doing 3 to 5 groups of slow and even balloon blowing is one of the best ways to relax the nervous system. When we have chronic pain in the body, sympathetic nerves will become more tense, resulting in faster heart rate, respiratory rate, when breathing will become very shallow, the rib cage can not fall with breathing, lower back muscle tension leads to lumbar spine anterior curvature angle becomes large, slowly blowing on the tension of the lumbar muscles have a good relaxation effect, exhale after the pause will give the nervous system a signal to rest.
In the blowing of the balloon through the complete exhalation, can empty the usual residual air due to shallow breathing, the diaphragm can return to the most relaxed position, conducive to the spine and rib cage back to the best position. The resistance formed by the balloon during exhalation can effectively activate the transversus abdominis and pelvic floor muscles, while also recruiting more abdominal muscle groups to fire, making the core more stable, which can effectively relieve back pain.