Breathing Tips to Prevent Exercise Pain from a Physical Therapist
Are you struggling with muscle pain or tension during exercise? Your breathing technique could be the culprit. Proper breathing mechanics help optimize oxygen flow, reduce strain, and improve performance.
I’m Lauren Masi, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. I’m also the owner and Clinical Services Director of Bay Area Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy. Today, we’re going to talk about some breathing tips to prevent exercise pain.
How Breathing Affects Movement and Exercise
Many people don’t realize how important our respiratory system is in all aspects of movement—whether during exercise, daily activities, or even pelvic floor function.
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle located beneath the rib cage, and it plays a crucial role in breathing. Below the diaphragm, the pelvic floor muscles sit inside the pelvis, creating a support system. When you inhale, the diaphragm drops down, creating pressure in the abdominal cavity. In a well-functioning system, the pelvic floor also lowers slightly in response and then rises as you exhale, maintaining a balance of pressure.
Poor breathing patterns can disrupt this system, leading to discomfort, inefficient movement, and even pain.
Why Proper Breathing Matters
Taking deep breaths allows oxygen to get absorbed into the bloodstream, which gets carried to all of our muscles. If we are not taking big, deep breaths, it can result in muscle pain and spasms, sometimes called lactic acid buildup, which is when you aren’t efficiently breathing out carbon dioxide and replacing it with oxygen in your blood.
If you ever notice that when you take a breath, your shoulders rise up towards the ceiling, that would be an inefficient breathing pattern. This method of breathing might result in neck muscle pain due to you using what we call accessory muscles to breathe rather than using the diaphragm and muscles that are meant for breathing.
Ideally, you would be breathing into your diaphragm. You can think of it as 360-degree breathing because air is meant to fill your rib cage all the way around, like opening an umbrella and it gets wider in all directions.
Signs of Poor Breathing Mechanics
- Chest and Rib Flaring – If your rib cage flares forward when you breathe, it can lead to back pain by creating stiffness and extension in the upper back.
- Upper Rib Breathing – Breathing that stays high in the chest can impact pelvic floor function, potentially contributing to issues like incontinence or organ prolapse.
- Holding Your Breath – If you hold your breath during exercise, your diaphragm remains compressed, creating unnecessary pressure and reducing oxygen exchange.
How to Breathe Correctly During Exercise
My number one take home tip for everybody when you are exercising is: don’t hold your breath. Holding your breath squishes the diaphragm downward, keeps pressure on all of your organs, and presses them down onto your pelvic floor. It also prevents you from getting a good exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen during exercise.
My tip is to exhale during the hard part of the exercise. That’s usually when people want to hold their breath anyway. For example, if you’re doing a bicep curl, you should exhale as you lift the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight down. This helps you slow down and make sure you have good form and good breathing mechanics to oxygenate your muscles.
Exceptions for High-Intensity Sports
There are some exceptions to breath control, particularly in extreme weightlifting, boxing, or high-intensity sports where bracing through breath-holding can be beneficial. However, most of us are not in that category, so please make sure you’re breathing fully into your rib cage, exhaling during the hard part, and not holding your breath.
Need Help? Reach Out to Bay Area Physical Therapy
If you do need any help or would like some further assistance with your respiratory system and pelvic floor while you exercise, please reach out to Bay Area Physical Therapy today. We’d be happy to do a consultation and explain how physical therapy can help you.