Relieving Back Pain With Diaphragm Breathing In Ellicott City MD | Part 2

In part one of this series, we learned how optimizing diaphragm activation supports postural alignment to reduce back pain. Another significant reason we integrate diaphragmatic breathing in treatment is to manage stress and pain signals by manipulating the nervous system. Contact our Ellicott City MD chiropractic clinic today to learn more.

Breathing is one of those functions that’s largely automatic, but it’s also something that can be consciously controlled (like blinking). When you tune-in to your respiration by controlling the pattern and depth of your breath, you directly tap into your nervous system, the ruler of pain and bodily sensations.

Researchers have only recently discovered the bi-directional relationship we have with the nervous system, where it was previously thought to be an entirely involuntary system.

What does that mean for us? Good news: we are not at the mercy of an overactive sympathetic nervous system (known for the fight-or-flight stress response). We can consciously guide the mind and body to the thoughts and sensations we want to experience instead of letting the nervous system run on autopilot. The simplest way to tap into the nervous system is with diaphragmatic breathing.

How does breathwork interact with the nervous system In Ellicott City MD?

Our nervous system is still set to the original "Caveman" programming, so when we experience a modern-day stressor, like family concerns, job demands, hearing tragic stories on the news, or experiencing ongoing aches and pains, the brain triggers the same fight-or-flight response as the caveman trying to outrun a tiger.

Today though, the stressor is not a single instance of “encountering a tiger;” it is an ongoing cumulation of everything you witness or experience, evolving into chronic stress when left on autopilot.

You may have noticed when feeling stressed, your breath becomes quick and shallow, your body tenses, and your pain may heighten. In a defensive mechanism, the nervous system becomes more alert and increasingly receptive to negative thoughts and external stimuli, adding fuel to the fire.

In turn, this decreases pain tolerance, so even minimal stimuli that may not have previously triggered a reaction can feel agitating. When this continues unchecked, it’s common to “guard” your movements, changing your movement patterns and musculoskeletal positioning to avoid further pain. Guarding is unfavorable though, because it restricts mobility and exacerbates long-term pain experiences.

When practicing breathwork however, you’re purposely slowing your respiration (not something you’d likely do when chased by a tiger, right?), thus triggering the opposite effect through the parasympathetic nervous system, or rest-and-digest mode.

While experiencing pain stresses the body, deep breathing soothes the body. It slows your heart rate, nourishes the brain and body with oxygen-rich blood, signaling to the nervous system, the threat is over, it is safe to return to your normal functioning now.

But because there's so rarely a single stressor or life-threatening danger to overcome, we’ve become stuck in an ongoing state of stress where negative stimuli linger around longer than the tiger would, which subsequently reprograms the brain through your movements, breathing patterns, habitual postures, and (boom!) now you have chronic back pain.

As you can see, it quickly snowballs into a vicious cycle. The good news is, you can break the cycle by taking control of your nervous system by taking control of your breath.

This is why we begin your treatment with retraining your breathing pattern. It is the most cost-effective, accessible, and widely beneficial tool we can add to your toolbox to help manage pain.

Ways to practice:

• Reset your nervous system: Simply focus on exhaling twice as long as the inhale to really settle down your nervous system.
• Box-Breathing: This is how Navy SEALs train to increase lung capacity and stay calm in high-stress situations. Inhale for a count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, and hold for 4. This is great to do during an acutely stressful experience, or before bedtime to help you relax and induce sleep.
• Ocean Breath (Ujjayi): This ancient yogic technique uses nasal breathing to relax the nervous system and slow the breath. Make yourself comfortable and keep your mouth closed throughout the practice. Constrict your throat slightly so that as you breathe, it makes a soft but audible sound (reminiscent of ocean waves). As you breathe, inflate your abdomen from the bottom up so your diaphragm is engaged and shoulder/neck muscles are relaxed throughout the practice.