Pain and Faulty breathing: a pilot study
Perri and Halford (2004)
Purpose: observe both relaxed and deep breathing patterns in a convenience sample to
determine the incidence of normal versus faulty patterns of respiration.
Information on breathing mechanics influenced directly:
-
Biomechanical factors such as rib and head fixations, or muscle imbalance
Biomechanical factors involving anything that affects the bodies delicate pH balance,
allergy, infection, poor diet, hormonal influences or kidney dysfunction
Psychosocial factors such as chronic anxiety, anger or depression
An important link respiration has with health lies in its role as a doorway to the autonomic
nervous system. The essential function C02 has in maintaining the body’s acid-base
balance.
Methods: Two surveys were used, about pain history and selected demographics, on
completion of these followed a brief physical exam, while the patient was in standing,
relaxed breathing was observed (without awareness by the patient that the exam had
begun), the patient was then asked to take several breaths in and out and then take several
long, slow breaths in and out. Abdominal and chest breathing was assessed by observation
only. Lateral rib expansion was assessed also by observation, as well as light palpation and
no motion, normal motion or lifting motion was noted.
From the survey pain patterns mentioned were patterns from the head, neck, middle back,
lower back, buttocks, arms, (radiating into hand), and legs (radiating into the foot).
Defining “normal” in order to define normal versus faulty motor patterns of respiration
was evaluated. The rating system below explains:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Abdominal, not chest breathing should initiate inhalation
Lifting the chest “up” is faulty
Lack of or a lifting “up” motion of the lateral ribs is faulty
Chronic chest lifting will result in clavicular grooves
Paradoxical breathing is faulty
Participants: members of the local community 111, of these 94 participated in the study
68% per women and 32% were men.
Physical Exam: during the physical exam, observations were made both relaxed and deep
breathing. 1) up-ward or absent lateral rib motion, 2) lifting of the collar bone, 3) deep
clavicular groves and or paradoxical breathing. Because number 1) is a mild finding of faulty
breathing, 2) is moderate and 3) is severe, the observations were also coded on an ordinal
(scale 1, 2 ,3 respectively) two variables were then created to capture the degree (from 0-6)
of faulty breathing for both normal and deep breaths.
Results: Pain: 87.2% of patients had experience some type of pain in the head, neck,
middle back, lower back, buttocks, arm or leg.
Faulty breathing: when breathing was relaxed 56.4% exhibited faulty breathing patterns,
the total increased when they were asked to take a deep breath.
Neck pain correlated with faulty breathing patterns.
Conclusion: Chest breathing and a history of chronic cervical neck pain was found to be
statistically significant. Only 38% of people in the study had neck pain, compared with 54%
of headaches, low back pain 65%, still the number of faulty breathers who has experienced
neck pain was an overwhelming 83%.