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#Post#: 82--------------------------------------------------
Best Breathing Exercises for Strengthening Lungs
By: LightMove Date: December 9, 2021, 1:32 am
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Unlock the Benefits of Deep Breathing Exercises
With the novel COVID-19 running rampant and affecting patients’
lungs, many individuals are finding themselves more concerned
than ever about strengthening their respiratory system. If you
are interested in lowering stress levels in your body and
managing pain, you would benefit from learning more about
breathing exercises.
As physical therapists, we are some of the strongest advocates
you will find for the powers of physical therapy. Physical care
is one of the best ways to ease pain, help with body function,
and overall live a healthier life. It will strengthen the
muscles associated with injury and improve post-surgical
outcomes.
However, it is not the end-all-be-all when it comes to your
health, and there is more that goes into physical health than
what might meet the eye. Furthermore, even the best exercises we
teach in physical therapy are not effective if the breath is not
working properly.
Oftentimes, in order to fully improve a patient’s range of
motion or flexibility, we need to calm the nervous system down
through breathing. Breathing with your diaphragm tells the body
to go into a state of safety. Breathing affects the
parasympathetic nervous system through the vagus nerve, which
runs from the base of the brain to the abdomen and is
responsible for mediating the response of the nervous system and
lowering the heart rate.
The sympathetic division of the nervous system is what prepares
the body for physical activity. These signals are important, but
it takes time to teach the brain how to reduce the alert system
signal once it has been overly active. Calming the nervous
system down through breath work can teach the body to move
within the limits it should. In addition to making physical
therapy more effective, breathing exercises have the following
benefits for the body:
Decreasing stress
Breathing exercises decrease stress because they slow your heart
rate and stimulate the vagus nerve. This sends a message to your
brain to relax. Another interpretation your brain can make that
affects your mood is interpreting the level of oxygen as a
threat. When your oxygen levels fall, your brain interprets it
as stress and your cortisol levels spike. For this reason, deep
breathing and allowing more oxygen to enter the blood decreases
stress.
Relieving pain
Breathing exercises can help regulate the heart and blood
pressure, which helps regulate the pain response in the brain.
Deep breathing can help manage chronic pain because it takes
some of the pressure off of the nerves. These exercises replace
this tension with conscious breathing, allowing the body to
relax and the tension around the affected area to be released.
Improving immunity
Getting enough oxygen is an essential way to help the body fight
off infection and improve the immune system. When the body
receives enough oxygen, water gases and toxins are removed with
greater efficiency and cells are able to perform to the best of
their ability. Anaerobic bacteria thrive in areas in the body
without oxygen, and it is the bacteria that is responsible for
infections like tetanus and gangrene. Oxygen helps build
resistance to infections because it stops anaerobic organisms in
their tracks.
Stimulating the lymphatic system
The lymphatic system helps control the function of immune
responses. When you practice breathing exercises, your body
releases carbon dioxide. It is necessary to remove carbon
dioxide from the body in order to avoid allowing the blood to
rise to dangerously acidic levels. Along these same lines, when
you breathe, the movements of the diaphragm help remove toxins
from the body and promote better blood flow. Deep breathing
allows fresh oxygen to come in and toxins and carbon dioxide to
go out.
How to Increase Lung Capacity
You might think it is not possible to increase your lung
capacity, but this is far from the truth. In addition to the
benefits listed above, deep breathing exercises are a great way
to increase lung capacity and strengthen lungs. Some of the best
breathing exercises that can help accomplish this include:
Pursed lip breathing
Put simply, pursed lip breathing works by transporting oxygen
into the lungs and carbon dioxide out of the lungs. It
effectively allows the airways to stay open longer and removes
air that might be trapped in the lungs through slower breaths.
It also provides relief from shortness of breath. This form of
breathing can also prevent or relieve hypercapnia, which is a
term used to refer to excessive carbon dioxide in the
bloodstream.
To practice pursed lip breathing, breathe in slowly through your
nose for two counts while keeping the mouth closed. Continue by
taking a normal breath. Next, purse the lips as if you are about
to whistle and breathe out of the mouth. You will soon find that
you have a new sense of control over shortness of breath and
your lungs feel stronger.
Equal breathing
To practice “equal breathing” means to inhale for the same
amount of time as you exhale. Often, we breathe in scattered
patterns without even realizing it. This makes the body feel as
if it is under stress and it does not fully utilize our lungs.
Equal breathing, on the other hand, will effectively relax the
central nervous system, improve focus and concentration,
establish rhythm in your breathing, and allow you to access your
full breathing capacity.
To practice equal breathing, shut your eyes and breathe as you
normally would for a few counts. Next, count to four slowly
while inhaling through the nose and exhale for the same amount
of time (four seconds). It may sound simple, but being mindful
about the breath in this way can do wonders for your physical
and mental state.
4-7-8 breathing
Utilizing the 4-7-8 breathing method is a great way to manage
anxiety, improve sleep patterns, manage emotional responses, and
regulate breathing patterns. To practice 4-7-8 breathing, exhale
completely through the mouth. Many patients find that making an
audible “whoosh” sound when doing so enhances the effects. Next,
close the mouth and inhale quietly through the nose while
counting to four. Hold the breath for a count of seven, and
exhale completely while making the same sound and counting to
eight.
Humming
This exercise might seem a little out of the box, but it is
actually quite powerful. Humming while exhaling helps increase
nitric oxide in the body, which helps build and repair the
nervous system, dilates the blood vessels, and enables more
oxygen to be delivered throughout the body. Many patients also
find humming to be quite relaxing.
To practice humming in a way that benefits your lungs, sit
upright on the edge of your bed or in a stable chair. Next,
place your hands around the sides of the stomach. Close your
lips and place your tongue on the roof of the mouth. Breathe in
through the nose while pulling air into the stomach at the
location of your hands. Spread your fingers apart with your
breath as much as you can. When you feel that your lungs are
full, close the lips and exhale while humming. Feel free to take
the liberty of making an actual humming noise at this step. Your
hands should naturally lower back down. Inhale through your nose
and exhale through your nose while humming again, and repeat for
one minute or until desired state is achieved.
If you want more suitable breathing courses to help yourself
with breathing training, you can choose to use breathing
training like OPUMP. It provides a variety of breathing training
courses, including enhancing lung capacity, enhancing lung
function, training breathing rhythm, helping to restore lung
injury, and improving breathing difficulties.These courses can
improve physical fitness, improve sleep quality, increase lung
capacity, and make breathing easier.
HTML https://theopump.com/
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