Breathing – Its Connection to Neck Pain, Stress, and Healthy Living

Do you or someone you know suffer from chronic neck pain? Take a deep breath while looking in the mirror and watch what happens to your shoulders. Most people, particularly those with neck pain, hoist their shoulders with each breath in a lurching motion. This is called a movement pattern dysfunction, one which puts tremendous pressure on the muscles and joints of the neck.

If the abnormal breathing pattern is present, the muscles and joints of the neck are overused many times per minute. This results in excess tension, inflammation and pain. If this pattern is not fixed, it can be very difficult to resolve chronic neck and shoulder pain.

When an individual presents in my office with breathing pattern dysfunction, they typically are not using their diaphragm as the prime initiator of the breathing motor pattern. Using the neck and shoulder muscles to initiate and be the prime generators of this pattern is problematic on multiple levels. As mentioned previously, chronic neck inflammation and pain can often result; but there are deeper and sometimes more serious problems.

When the neck and shoulders initiate the breathing pattern, the breath is oftentimes shallow. That is, the air exchange occurs at the top of the lungs only. A majority of the surface area in the lungs that is available for oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange is located in the lower lung. Thus, the levels of oxygen in the body are suppressed. Over time this can result in fertile ground for many chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. In the short term, it can result in a low level stress response. Even mildly elevated levels of Carbon Dioxide in the blood can be interpreted by the body as a possible danger zone. Thus, it may cause adrenaline release and other autonomic stress reactions. Worst case can be a full blown panic attack. Evaluating and correcting the breathing pattern dysfunction can be an extremely powerful tool in managing neck and body pain.