Breathe
The diaphragm and our breath patterns enhance core function and reduce back pain. Most clients that I work with who have chronic low back pain have a really difficult time coordinating core activation with the breath.
Here are some dysfunctional patterns I have noticed when people try to engage or activate the core muscles:
1) People tend to hold their breath when trying to activate the core muscles.
2) The diaphragm/ribcage doesn’t fully expand along the sides and the back of the body during an inhalation.
3) The lower ribcage flares up and out
4) There is a dome along the center of the abdomen
5) There can be bulging of the abdominals above, around and below the navel
How does diaphragm movement and breathing help reduce back pain? Here are the ways that I know…
By breathing while activating the core, intra-abdominal pressure is maintained so that no increased pressure is placed on the internal organs, spine and nerves.
When you hold the breath during activity, a downward pressure is created on the pelvic floor. This downward pressure can increase the likelihood of organ prolapse or stress incontinence, or if you have these issues, holding your breath can worsen your symptoms. If the pelvic floor can’t support the internal organs well, then the deep hip rotators try to help out. This can create imbalance with the lower back and cause excessive stiffness and pain.
Breathing into the sides of your trunk and your back while expanding the lower ribcage in a 360 degree direction allows the diaphragm to “massage” the hip flexors(deep spinal stabilizers) which originate at the lowest thoracic and lumbar vertebrae and share fascial attachments to the diaphragm.
Practicing breathing with an even rhythm of inhale to exhale helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, reduces your stress response and reduces cortisol production. Also, practice lengthening the exhale in relation to the inhale is also a nice way to reduce stress and pain.
By coordinating breath function with drawing in of the front of the abdominals, you can balance the load between the front body and the back body to support the spine during activity such as bending, lifting and squatting to reduce lower back pain.
I’d like to offer a simple exercise to get you started with coordinating the breath, abdominals and pelvic floor so that you can take some extra work off the lower back and reduce your pain.
Find a comfortable position. You can sit unsupported, sit with support, recline, or lay flat with the knees straight or bent. You can even practice this when you are standing. Receive the breath, feeling the belly rise and fall. Practice this for 5 breaths, and when you get to the fifth exhale, try to pull the navel in toward your spine. The ribs pull down and toward center. The spine stays in its same position with no flattening or rounding of the lower back. On the next inhale, allow the belly to soften and rise again. Practice this drawing in for the next 10 exhales. To increase the abdominal muscle activation, act as if you are blowing the breath out through a straw. To give you a better understanding of the drawing in motion, place a hand on each side of the pelvis resting the fingers just inside of the points on the front of the pelvis. When you draw the abdominals in, you will feel the belly pull away from the fingers.
Give it a try multiple times a day. Come back to the breath and the focused abdominal drawing in.
I’ll be back next week, so in the meantime, practice this drawing in and let me know how it feels for you!
Take good care,
Sharon