In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how mouth breathing can alter head-neck control. In Part 2, we talked breathing during max effort. And as we discussed, holding your breath (with appropriate mechanics) is a natural, physiologic method for maximizing spinal stiffness and force output under very heavy loads. However, holding your breath during repetitive movements is not only metabolically costly, it is also mechanically inefficient – and most of our daily movements involve the need to breathe under sub-maximal load and for more than one repetition. So for Part 3, we need to establish how to breathe during high-repetition, serial movements without loss of mechanics.
Ever see someone take a huge breath of air to pick their shoe up off the ground? Or to rep out pull-ups – only to gasp for air midway thru and totally over-extend their spine? We see it all the time but, assuming the weight of the shoe isn’t their one-rep max, this is not normal. As I mentioned last week, those with low back pain have been found to hold more air in their lungs during sub-maximal lifting. Why? It’s likely they are unable to dissociate diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing in which the diaphragm descends into the abdominal cavity) with movement thus making every movement a max effort one as they lack a proper global bracing strategy.
The diaphragm has a dual role during movement as it not only drives respiration, but also assists in spinal control. In movements that require breathing while still under load, the diaphragm is often underused as a stabilizer due to it’s mechanical attachments to the thoracolumbar spine and by increasing intra-abdominal pressure. This may work for max efforts but as soon as we have to take a breath, neutral spine position is lost and mechanics break down. Athletes will attempt to combat this when they need to breathe by inconsistently using their diaphragm as a stabilizer and instead gulp air into their chest and neck. This is highly inefficient as demonstrated in those with asthma – heavy chest/neck breathers – who have markedly higher levels of work associated with breathing.
Some hallmarks of faulty bracing: the athlete inhales with an apical breath → traps the air in the upper chest → performs a few repetitions then gasps for air → loss of neutral spine then occurs while still under load commonly into overextension → unable to reconstitute spinal stiffness while still under load (pathologic neutral)
To move more efficiently we need to have a global bracing strategy during high-rep movements (which, face it, submax repetitive movements are what make up daily life and most athletic movements) in which spinal control is never lost and efficiency is high.
Here’s a simple and effective breathing/bracing strategy
- Take a diaphragmatic breath (belly breath) – this takes practice (see Part 1) as many athletes, especially those with history of asthma, LBP, etc. really struggle with this. *Diaphragm is accessed
- Near the end of inspiration, increase abdominal muscle tension. As you exhale, think about squeezing the air out and crushing the toothpick (see Part 2) or wringing out the air with your abs (this is when abdominal and glute tension is the highest). *Canister on max tension – this is when the majority of the movement is performed
- Take one or two small breaths into the diaphragm by slightly reducing abdominal tension, allowing the diaphragm to descend while still in a compressed system. This will increase intra-abdominal pressure and allow the diaphragm to assist in stabilization while the abdominals are at slightly reduced tension. *Spinal stiffness maintained during the next breath
There a ton of advanced breathing assessments and techniques out there but we can lop off a lot of dysfunction if we follow this basic principle of an appropriate and reproducible breathing/bracing strategy.
– Seth
Hi Seth, it is excellent to read your three parts on breathing and performance – having worked in this area clinically for over 25 years – I would like to add that actually the vocal folds are the top of the canister and the diaphragm works as a modulator. It is hyperinflation that causes much of the problem and the loss of the diaphragm movement. Generally in the athletic population this is the result of over working or too much bracing of the abdominal muscles. Most of what you say is great and works well – I have a problem with the words ‘bracing’ as this is where many of problems originate – when we brace this also braces the thoracic cavity, limiting, diaphragm excursion and limiting ventilation. If someone has correct alignment and muscle balance then bracing should not be needed, as the body will work how it is meant to Obviously under high loads for protection of the spine this is a different story. Thanks for highlighting breathing patterns as this is often overlooked but it is where all movement originates – if breathing patterns are wrong everything else will be wrong.
Tania- Physiotherapist- Breathing Specialist.
Tania,
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I completely agree with your points. For me the act of bracing is different than being braced as bracing is the active involvement of a global strategy as I typically see high rectus abdominis activity (braced) with poor IO/TA facilitation which certainly limits thoracic expansion and pelvic control. Certainly being overbraced is not ideal and only adds deleterious compression to the spine. However bracing while breathing behind the shield or into the abdominal brace affords a level of control while not completely eliminating thoracic expansion and diaphragm mobility. Ultimately the task should yield a reflexive bracing strategy with breathing to meet the demand. Let’s talk more about this – I’ll email you. Thanks!