Abdominal breathing

[RoyalPrince]

I have noticed over a long period of time that most adults breathe with their chest. I on the other hand breathe with my abdominal muscles more (may be due to the increased oxygen need or coughing regularly.. not sure). Anyway i thought it may be a bad thing that i breathe with my abdomin more and not my chest... i sometimes make an effort to breathe using my chest more (ie deep breaths occassionally). Then i decided to read up on it and came up with a small surprise... i was thinking my breathing technique may have been a poor choice but turns out the way you breathe can affect your overall health (and my way is better)... it seems most start out using abdominal breathing as youth but grow into chest breathing as adults... the chest breathing limits the movement of the diaphram and doesn't utilize the lower lobes as much... where abdominal breathing utlilizes more of the lungs and gets the air deeper...

Any thoughts on this... i'm sure we all pay attention to the way we breathe as we think of it way more often than the normal individual.

Also here is one of the several websites i found on the subject for the skeptical...hehe
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.authentic-breathing.com/abdominal-breathing.htm">Linky</a>

 

[anonymous]

Wonderful that you discovered it by yourself!
There are several techniques that they teach adults in rehab for COPD (see <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.copd-international.com/Library/Breathing_Exercises.htm">http://www.copd-international....reathing_Exercises.htm</a> ). I always assumed they taught these same techniques to young CFers when they were in hospital for exacerbations. Seems I was wrong. Anyway I'd recommend learning them. They were a godsend for my husband with bronchiectasis.
-LisaV

 

[catboogie]

i breathe abdominally also. it is a combination of having a mother as a voice teacher and practicing yoga for a while. i knew it was "better" for some things, but i didn't know it was good for your health. neat!

laura

 

[wanderlost]

Yogic breathing! I don't do it naturally, but I do do it during yogic practice and always before PFTs.
If you're interested in furthering your knowledge here, there are all sorts of different techniques. One called kabalabhati breath I find particularly helpful in loosening secretions, google it!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[anonymous]

I was taught at my cf clinic to breathe this way. I've been doing it for some time. Also, when you do autogenic drainage this is how you breathe.

John

 

[JazzysMom]

I actually learned it from this site somewhere along the lines. I found it also makes a difference when breathing in deep to blow for my pfts. I never was taught this at my clinic, but it should be. Unless they "assumed" I already knew it......I will have to ask about it!

 

[anonymous]

Sorry guy's, but i'm a little confused.
How do you control what you breath with?
I assume i'm breathing with my chest, how do you determine what your breathing with? ie chest or abdomianl muscles?

Eli

 

[thelizardqueen]

While in hospital my physio student gave me some breathing exercises to do. She said you can do this in place of physio, and it is just as beneficial to your health. In fact, you cough up quite a bit with it.

Following is how to do it:

Autogenic Drainage -

Autogenic drainage is one of the methods of airway clearance techniques. To enhance the benefits use your ventolin prior to doing thiese exercises.

Before beginning - clear your upper airways by blowing your nose and huffing.
Starting Position - You may sit upright or lie down. Keep your neck slightly extended yet relaxed.

1st Stage Low Level Lung Volume - "UNSTICKING"

1. Breath in a normal sized breath - hold for 3-5 seconds.

2. Breath out by using your abdominal muscles in a sighing manner, keeping your mouth open. Gently squeeze the air from the bottom of your lungs - until there is no more air to breath out. (Do not breath out so fast that you cause a wheeze).

3. Repeat this cycle until you Feel or Hear:
a) some crackles of the mucus all through expiration,
b) the mucus is moving up,
c) a strong urge to cough - avoid coughing at this point - coughing can cause wheezing and prevent the movement of the secretions to larger airways.

2nd Stage - Mid Level Lung Volume - "COLLECTING"

1. Breath in a normal breath - hold for 3-5 seconds.

2. Breath out the same amount normally in a sighing manner keeping your mouth open. - Don not breath out so fast that you cause a wheeze.

Repeat this cycle until you feel/hear loose mucus in the upper airways.

3rd Stage - High Level Lung Volume - "EVACUATING"

This should be done when the collected mucus reaches the upper airway. Breath in a large gentle breath - do not hold.

Breath out using a strong huff on expiration - avoid coughing at this point. Repeat until you sense that a cough will clear the mucus and you can expectorate. High frequencies mean that the mucus is in the small airways. Low frequency means that the mucus in in the large airways.

GENERAL INFO:

Allow a resting period of 1-5 minutes to relax and breath normally.
Repeat cycle 4-5 times as you can tolerate.
Repeat 3-4 times daily as this will continue to clear your airways.
The larger and thinner the consistency of the collected mucus, the less expiratory huffing force will be needed to expectorate.
Experienced patients will drain their lungs quicker then others.

*Trust me - very good technique to clear mucus. Highly recommended!!

 

[anonymous]

Eli,

When you breathe don't inflate your chest. Hold your hand over your chest and take a breath. Does it expand? If so your breathing with your chest. When you take your chest breath your stomach goes in. When you take abdominal breaths your stomach goes out. Hold your hand on your stomach and when you breath make sure it goes out or expands.