Deep breathing exercises can reduce stress, lower blood pressure and help in neck pain relief

These breathing exercises can be done lying down or sitting. Improper breathing techniques may be a source of neck pain. This causes overload of the muscles in the front of the neck called the scalene muscles. The problem is with the muscles but the pain may still be felt in the shoulder and even down the arm to the hand. Breathing through the chest only can cause an increase in blood pressure and lower volume of air in the lungs causing the neck muscles to lift the ribcage and assist.

The muscles involved with poor breathing techniques are the scalene muscles. These muscles are in front of the neck and attach the neck to the upper rib cage. The "X" is where the trouble in the muscle is and the red areas are where pain or numbness may result

In normal deep breathing the abdomen expands or pushes out. The diaphragm contracts and pushes air into the lower chest. This is normal breathing. Just look at a baby or small child and you can observe this. Abdominal breathing increases the amount of air during inhalation and can decrease stress on the entire body.

In practice I have observed poor breathing techniques in almost every patient and made it standard procedure to teach breathing exercises, not only to decrease the the stress on the neck, but to decrease stress on the entire body. The results were often dramatic. We once automatically used deep breathing correctly, however, throughout life we have choked off this normal process and must relearn the proper breathing habits through still breathing exercises.

At first you may feel uneasy as you try to coordinate the muscles to use deep breathing properly, but after some practice with the breathing exercises it will become natural. Try to remember at times of neck pain and/or stress and anxiety to make sure to watch how you are breathing because these may be times when you revert.

To begin the coordination of deep breathing with the abdomen, first lay on your back with proper neck support.

The illustration to the left shows the wrong technique for breathing. The middle shows correct exhaling and the right shows correct inhaling.

Breathe through your mouth with one hand placed on the abdomen and the other on your chest and notice the movement. Typically when taking a deep breath, the improper method is observed where either the chest only is used or the abdomen pushes in while the chest pushes out.

To learn abdominal breathing, place the hands as described and exhale fully. Keep your chest in and relaxed. Start by contracting the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm. Then, without expanding the upper chest, inhale and allow your abdomen to expand out. Go for a smooth even rhythm. Once you are good at abdominal breathing you can begin to coordinate the movement of the abdomen with the chest. A good method is to take air in for the count of 4, then pause for a count of 4, then exhale for a count of 4. Try to remain aware of your breathing throughout the day. Placing the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind the front teeth and breathing around your tongue will aid in relaxation and moisten your mouth.

Another useful exercise is to imagine the air coming in going down in front to your abdomen then on exhale imagine the air going back and up the spine to the head and out. At the point when you pause or hold the breath, focus on the area your having trouble with such as the neck, shoulders, head etc...

Help your neck muscles by avoid carrying awkward packages that require lifting with the arms extended out in front, or pulling or tugging strenuously. When exerting vigorous effort, consciously try to reduce neck muscle tension caused by raising the shoulders and projecting the head forward. The neck exerciser can help with this. When straining during any activity try to keep breathing. When turning in bed roll the head instead of lifting it off the pillow. Always observe correct posture.

An artical related to breathing and neck pain in Medical Hypotheses, 2007 Oct 22; Neck pain causes respiratory dysfunction; describes a presumptive mechanism for the development of changes in respiratory function due to chronic neck pain. The patient with neck pain presents a number of factors that could constitute a predisposition of leading to a respiratory dysfunction: (a) the decreased strength of deep neck flexors and extensors, (b) the hyperactivity and increased fatigability of superficial neck flexors, (c) the limitation of range of motion, (d) the decrease in proprioception and disturbances in neuromuscular control, (e) the existence of pain and (f) the psychosocial influence of dysfunction. The possible connection of neck pain and respiratory function could have a great impact on various clinical aspects notably patient assessment, rehabilitation and pharmacological prescription.