Breathing and Movement

Can correct breathing have a positive impact on performance?

The relationship between breathing and movement is a very much important component. However, It’s an often overlooked factor in improving range of motion (ROM), coordination, and overall physical performance. Understanding how breathing influences joint alignment, muscle tension, and nervous system regulation can significantly enhance mobility and efficiency in movement.

Breathing and Movement: The Fundamentals

Breathing Mechanics:

Inhalation: Expands the ribcage, increases intra-abdominal pressure, and facilitates spinal extension and thoracic opening.

Exhalation: Compresses the ribcage, decreases intra-abdominal pressure, and facilitates spinal flexion and muscle relaxation.

Nervous System Influence: Deep, controlled breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing tension and allowing muscles to relax. Shallow or restricted breathing activates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing tension and limiting mobility.

The role of the diaphragm: The diaphragm is a primary driver of breathing and contributes to spinal stabilization. Proper diaphragm function improves core stability, pelvic alignment, and hip mobility.

Breathing and External/Internal Rotation

Shoulder and Thoracic Mobility:

Inhalation: Promotes external rotation of the shoulders and thoracic spine expansion. Useful for overhead movements and opening the chest.

Exhalation: Facilitates internal rotation and scapular protraction. Ideal for movements like push-ups or shoulder stabilization.

Hip Mobility:

Inhalation: Assists with external rotation and hip flexion. Enhances depth in squats or lunges.

Exhalation: Encourages internal rotation and posterior pelvic tilt. Improves hip alignment and tension release in seated or deep hip stretches.

Breathing can affect full body movements:

Breathing regulates spinal positioning: Inhalation enhances extension and thoracic mobility. Exhalation encourages flexion and spinal stability.

Core Activation: Proper exhalation engages the deep core muscles (such as, transverse abdominis), creating a stable foundation for dynamic movement.

Pelvic Positioning: Exhalation aligns the pelvis in a neutral or posterior tilt, reducing strain on the lower back and improving hip mobility.

Shoulder Girdle: Rhythmic breathing coordinates scapular movement, improving shoulder stability and range.

Practical Applications

Breathing for Improved ROM:

Dynamic Movements: Pair inhalation with movements requiring expansion (example, reaching, lunges). Pair exhalation with movements requiring compression or deepening (example; twists, forward folds).

Static Stretches: Use slow, controlled exhalations to relax muscles and deepen the stretch.

Breathing for Joint Stability:

During heavy lifts, use the Valsalva maneuver (controlled breath-hold) to create intra-abdominal pressure and stabilize the spine.

Breathing for Relaxation and Recovery:

Post-workout, practice diaphragmatic breathing to reduce tension and improve recovery:

• Lie on your back with knees bent.
• Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly.
• Inhale deeply through your nose, expanding your belly, then exhale slowly.

Breathing and Movement for the Whole Body:

Thoracic Spine: Proper inhalation mobilizes the thoracic spine, improving posture and ROM for overhead and rotational movements.

Hips and Pelvis: Synchronizing breathing with hip movements enhances flexibility and stability during squats, lunges, and hip hinges.

Shoulders and Scapulae: Coordinating scapular motion with breathing improves overhead stability and reduces shoulder impingement risks.

Ankles and Feet: Controlled breathing reduces overall tension, indirectly enhancing mobility in distal joints like the ankles.

Inhalation/Exhalation During Exercise Changes the Movement Pattern:

Cat-Cow Stretch: Inhale: Arch the back (cow pose), opening the chest. Exhale: Round the spine (cat pose), engaging the core.

Deep Squat with Breath: Hold a deep squat. Inhale: Expand the ribcage. Exhale: Sink deeper into the squat, relaxing the hips.

Side-Lying Windmill: Inhale: Rotate the thoracic spine, expanding the chest. Exhale: Return to the starting position.

Pigeon Pose with Diaphragmatic Breathing: Inhale to expand the hips. Exhale to deepen into the stretch.

How Breathing Improves ROM:

Regulates Muscle Tension: Exhalation activates the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing muscles to relax and elongate.

Enhances Oxygenation: Deep breathing supplies muscles with oxygen, improving endurance and performance.

Improves Focus: Controlled breathing enhances mind-body awareness, aiding in movement precision.

Breathing Drills for Functional Mobility:

Exercise Ball Breathing: Lie on your back with a ball. Inhale deeply and exhale forcefully to like inflate the ball. Strengthens the diaphragm and improves core engagement.

Wall Breathing: Stand against a wall with your back flat. Inhale to expand the ribcage; exhale to press the back firmly against the wall. Promotes thoracic mobility and pelvic alignment.

3D Breathing: Sit cross-legged, placing hands on your ribs. Practice expanding your ribcage in all directions with each breath. Improves ribcage mobility, essential for shoulder and thoracic ROM.

Understanding and practicing breathing techniques with movement patterns, you can improve full ROM potential, reduce injury risk, and move better.

In addition, breathing hugely impacts joint movements by influencing the alignment, stability, and mobility of the body.

Some specific examples:

How Breathing Impacts Joint Movements:

Diaphragm Activation and Core Stability: The diaphragm acts as a central stabilizer. Proper breathing helps create intra-abdominal pressure, supporting the spine and reducing compensatory stress on peripheral joints like the shoulders and hips.

Tension and Relaxation of Muscles: Inhalation can expand and mobilize the ribcage, thoracic spine, and associated joints. Exhalation facilitates muscle relaxation and joint decompression, improving range of motion (ROM).

Neurological Regulation: Controlled breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing tension in muscles and improving joint flexibility.

Alignment and Posture: Breathing affects ribcage and pelvic alignment, which directly influences the hips, shoulders, and spine.

Examples of Breathing and Its Effects on Joint Movements:

Shoulders and Thoracic Spine:

Inhalation: Expands the ribcage, creating space for scapular upward rotation and thoracic extension.

Example: During overhead movements (e.g., pressing a barbell or performing a handstand), deep inhalation allows better scapular mobility and thoracic expansion.

Exhalation: Promotes internal rotation and scapular stabilization.

Example: In push-up or bench press, exhalation supports scapular retraction and stabilizes the shoulder joint.

Hips and Pelvis

Inhalation: Encourages anterior pelvic tilt and hip flexion.

Example: In a deep squat, inhalation supports hip flexion by tilting the pelvis forward, creating space for movement.

Exhalation: Facilitates posterior pelvic tilt and hip internal rotation.

Example: During a lunge or pigeon pose, exhaling helps relax the hip flexors, allowing for greater depth.

Spine

Inhalation: Creates spinal extension and thoracic mobility.

Example: In cat-cow stretches, inhalation arches the back (cow pose), enhancing spinal extension.

Exhalation: Promotes spinal flexion and core engagement.

Example: In a hollow body hold or forward fold, exhaling deeply allows deeper spinal flexion and core activation.

Ankles and Knees

Inhalation: Stabilizes the knees and ankles by activating the diaphragm and core.

Example: During running, deep inhalation improves joint stability by maintaining proper alignment through core engagement.

Exhalation: Helps relax tight calf and hamstring muscles, allowing for greater dorsiflexion and knee flexion.

Example: In downward dog, exhaling deeply relaxes the calves, improving ankle mobility.

Neck and Cervical Spine

Inhalation: Mobilizes the upper thoracic spine and cervical region.

Example: In rotational stretches, inhalation allows for more comfortable neck and upper spine movement.

Exhalation: Releases tension in the neck muscles, reducing strain and allowing better alignment.

Example: During yoga poses like child’s pose, exhaling relaxes the neck and enhances cervical spine mobility.

How Breathing Improves Specific Joint Movements:

Deep Squat

Inhalation: Expands the ribcage and lengthens the spine, helping with hip flexion and knee tracking.

Exhalation: Relaxes the hips and facilitates depth by reducing tension in the hip flexors and adductors.

Overhead Reach

Inhalation: Lifts and expands the ribcage, allowing better shoulder external rotation and thoracic extension.

Exhalation: Stabilizes the shoulder girdle and engages the core for a controlled range of motion.

Rotational Movements

Inhalation: Prepares the thoracic spine for rotation by expanding the ribcage.

Exhalation: Allows deeper rotation by relaxing the obliques and intercostal muscles.

Deadlift

Inhalation: Creates intra-abdominal pressure to stabilize the lumbar spine.

Exhalation: Guides hip extension and reduces excessive lumbar strain during the lockout phase.

Research Insights:

Intra-Abdominal Pressure: A study published in The Journal of Biomechanics highlighted that breathing mechanics influence spinal and pelvic alignment during weightlifting, reducing injury risk and improving joint efficiency.

Thoracic Spine and Shoulder Mobility: Research in Physical Therapy in Sport found that synchronized breathing improves scapular motion and thoracic extension, critical for overhead athletes.

Parasympathetic Activation: Studies in Frontiers in Psychology show that slow, deep breathing increases parasympathetic activity, which reduces tension in muscles, enhancing flexibility and ROM.

Practical Tips to Use Breathing for Joint Mobility:

Match Breath to Movement: Inhale during expansion movements (such as, upward reach, thoracic extension). Exhale during compression movements (such as, deepening a stretch, spinal flexion).

Use Diaphragmatic Breathing: Engage the diaphragm to stabilize the spine and align the pelvis.

Practice Breath Holds for Stability: Briefly hold your breath during heavy lifts to maintain intra-abdominal pressure and joint alignment.

Combine with Mobility Work: Use breathing techniques in dynamic stretches (e.g., hip openers, cat-cow, or thoracic rotations).

Improving performance goals means not only working hard in the gym or running for hours. You also need to pay attention to your recovery, mobility, flexibility, and giving your body the correct amount and sources of nutrients.

However, you now know that you must pay attention to your breathing too. Being intentional during your movement practice will help you increase ROM, improve your joint health, and give you a longer life in sports.

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