The Management of Breathing Pattern Disorders

Introduction[edit | edit source]

Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is defined as chronic or recurrent changes in the breathing pattern that cause respiratory and non-respiratory complaints.[1] For a discussion of the aetiology of breathing pattern disorders, please click here, and for assessment techniques, click here.

Management[edit | edit source]

When managing breathing pattern disorders, it is essential to consider factors that may have initially triggered the BPD or could cause future events.[2] These causative factors must be addressed to rehabilitate the habitual dysfunctional breathing pattern successfully.[3]

Education[edit | edit source]

Education about the pathophysiology of BPD/hyperventilation (HVS) is key and should be the initial step of any management plan.[4] It has been found that providing patients (specifically those with asthma in addition to HVS) clear explanations and reassurance about the cause of the problem can sometimes help to improve symptoms.[5] Important points to cover include:

  • the effects of abnormal versus diaphragmatic breathing
  • reassurance that symptoms have a physiological basis and are treatable[2]

Manual Therapy Techniques[edit | edit source]

Many patients who have BPDs have co-existing musculoskeletal concerns, particularly back and neck pain.[6] Manual techniques on their own will not be sufficient to address changes in length/tension; the BPD must also be addressed.[2] However, manual techniques can still be beneficial.[3]

The choice of technique will depend on the assessment findings. Still, several techniques can be used to help address issues such as increased tone or activity, elevated and depressed ribs and alterations in the mobility of thoracic articulations. These include thoracic mobilisations, stretches, muscle energy techniques (MET), positional release, trigger point release and integrated neuromuscular inhibition techniques.[3]

Breathing Retraining[edit | edit source]

Breathing retraining is the most common intervention for breathing pattern disorders.[5][7] It has also been shown to improve the quality of life in patients with incompletely controlled asthma.[8] When retraining breathing, there are four principles to consider:[3]

  1. Becoming aware of faulty breathing patterns
  2. Being able to relax the jaw, upper chest, shoulders and accessory muscles
  3. Re-education on abdominal/low-chest nose breathing pattern
  4. Being aware of normal breathing rates and rhythms at rest, as well as during speech and activity[3]

It is important to note that a patient may report transient discomfort or air hunger when beginning breathing re-education. Using pulse oximetry at various stages during the treatment can help to reinforce to patients that their SpO2 remains at a normal level.[3]

Pursed lip breathing has been shown to relieve dyspnoea, slow respiratory rate, increase tidal volume, and restore diaphragmatic function. It can be a useful starting point when retraining breathing.[9] It is essentially an eccentric exercise for the diaphragm and will slow down exhalation, which is key in breathing retraining.[9] To teach this technique:

  • Ask your patients to imagine blowing out a candle
  • They should exhale until they feel the first sign that they need to breathe in.
  • Advise them to close their lips and pause for one count.
  • They then take a breath through their nose.
  • Patients should be advised only to exhale as long as they can tolerate it. The exhalation time should gradually increase.
  • As patients become familiar with the pattern, ask them to count for the exhale (100, 200, 300 etc.), pause for one and then breath in. Ultimately the exhalation:inhalation ratio should be 2:1[9]

Encourage your clients to practice 2 x per day for approximately 5 minutes. This will retrain their ability to tolerate higher CO2.

Ideas to reduce the activity of the upper chest muscles:

  • Sit in an armchair. Rest arms on armrests. During inhalation, lightly press down on your arms (minimal force to be applied). Interlock hands with palms facing upwards. On the inhalation, push finger pads together (see figure 1).
Figure 1.
  • Sit forward on a chair and let arms drop so palms face forward. On the inhalation, turn the palms out (see figure 2).
Figure 2.
  • Stand with hands in front of the body. Grasp the wrist with the other hand and pull very lightly on the wrist[9] (see figure 3)
Figure 3.
  • Aim to do 30-40 cycles (approx 3-4 minutes) to slowly habituate the body to a higher level of CO2.[9]
  • Remind clients to test their CO2 tolerance by doing a breath-hold after exhalation. Their time should slowly increase to around 25 seconds.[9]

Speech[edit | edit source]

Because speech affects breathing rhythm, coordinating speech and breathing can be problematic for patients with HVS/BPDs Patients with speech problems tend to fall into one or more of the following categories:

1. Patients who are required to speak a lot at work. They often report

  • problems with breath control and vocal tone.
  • loss of confidence/performance anxiety

2. Mouth breathers with chronic sinus problems/postnasal drip. They present with:

  • cough
  • throat dryness
  • throat soreness

3. Patients with anxiety/stress/depressive disorders with increased sympathetic arousal, upper thoracic tension and sighing respirations. The present with:

  • excessive jaw/throat tightness/pain
  • often speak in a monotone.

4. Patients with a history of hiatus hernia or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. They often complain of:

  • irritated throat
  • chronic throat clearing
  • shoulder tension
  • vocal fold impairment.

Because of frequent abdominal pain, they adopt upper chest breathing; abdominal bracing results in ineffective breath control when speaking.[3]

Speech should be assessed in sitting/standing once an abdominal breathing pattern is re-established. A simple assessment method asks the patient to read a simple text or say the alphabet.[3]

To correct speech, consider the following steps:

  • Relaxed breath out before speaking
  • Breathe in softly through the nose to start
  • Light, low chest mouth breaths between sentences
  • Speak slowly

Any ongoing issues should be referred to a speech therapist.[3]

Exercise[edit | edit source]

Our ability to exercise depends on the capacity of our cardiovascular and respiratory systems to deliver oxygen to the tissues and remove excess carbon dioxide and metabolites.[3]

The normal oxygen cost of breathing at rest is less than 2% of resting oxygen consumption. During episodes of hyperventilation, this can increase to 30% of total consumption. Thus, patients who have chronic HVS/BPD may present with limited exercise capacity.[3]

It is essential to consider patient safety before prescribing exercise. It is recommended that physiotherapists discourage fatigued patients from commencing aerobic exercise until they have re-established balanced breathing and improved sleep patterns. When beginning exercise, accumulated exercise times can gradually increase towards a total of 30 mins brisk activity per day, 6-7 times per week.[3]

Complimentary Treatments[edit | edit source]

Relaxation[edit | edit source]

It is important to first educate patients about the stress response followed by the relaxation response to help them to learn to identify and switch off anxiety or stress responses. This can be achieved by regular practice of “calm stillness of mind and body”. Low volume, low chest breathing is an essential part of this process.[3]

Nutrition[edit | edit source]

When patients tend HVS, blood sugar levels can exacerbate symptoms when they are on the lower end of the normal range. Thus, nutrition is vital in the treatment of BPDs.[9]

Rest and Sleep[edit | edit source]

Patients with BPDs often experience erratic sleep patterns and vivid dreaming.[3] Patients who have chronic BPDs with low levels or varying CO2 levels commonly report waking at night. This is because, once asleep, CO2 levels start to rise when compared with a patient’s usual daily levels.[3] This stimulates the respiratory centres to increase the respiratory drive to reduce CO2 levels back to the patient’s average daily level.[3] Vivid dreams/nightmares often occur at this time, along with pounding heart. Breathing retraining during the day helps to re-establish higher CO2[3] tolerance by the respiratory centres. It is also important to consider providing education about sleep hygiene.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Lum L 1987 Hyperventilation syndromes in medicine and psychiatry: a review. J. R Soc Med. 80:229-231.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Clifton‐Smith T, Rowley J. Breathing pattern disorders and physiotherapy: inspiration for our profession. Phys Ther Rev. 2011; 16: 75–86.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Chaitow, L., Bradley, D., and Gilbert, C. Recognizing and Treating Breathing Pattern Disorders. Chaitow, L., Bradley, D., and Gilbert, C. 2014, Elsevier.
  4. Rapin A, Deslee G, Percebois-Macadre L, Jonvel AC, Demangeon S, Boyer FC. Quels traitements proposer dans le syndrome d’hyperventilation chez l’adulte ? [Which treatments for the hyperventilation syndrome in adults?]. Rev Mal Respir. 2017;34(2):93-101.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Connett GJ, Thomas M. Dysfunctional Breathing in Children and Adults With Asthma. Front Pediatr. 2018;6:406.
  6. McLaughlin L, Goldsmith CH, Coleman K. Breathing evaluation and retraining as an adjunct to manual therapy Man Ther. 2011 Feb;16(1):51-2.
  7. Du Pasquier D, Fellrath JM, Sauty A. Syndrome d’hyperventilation et respiration dysfonctionnelle : mise à jour [Hyperventilation syndrome and dysfunctional breathing : update]. Rev Med Suisse. 2020 Jun 17;16(698):1243-9.
  8. Bruton A, Lee A, Yardley L, Raftery J, Arden-Close E, Kirby S et al. Physiotherapy breathing retraining for asthma: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2018;6(1):19-28.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Chaitow, L. Dysfunctional Breathing Course Videos. Plus 2019. https://members.physio-pedia.com/2014/04/01/breathing-disorders/#resource