Orem Chiropractor - R. Ned McArthur Discusses Proper Breathing

Did you know that the average adult can take as many as 30,000 breaths a day? (That’s a lot of hot air!) Most of never even think about our breathing, unless something interferes with our breathing, like strenuous activity or holding our breath. Not having to think about breathing is actually a good thing though. Can you imagine . . . people would pass out or even die because they “forgot to breathe!”

Just because breathing is an automatic process doesn’t mean that we’re always doing it right. Breathing “right” means providing maximum oxygen to the lungs. Maximum oxygen means more nourishment to all the cells in your body.

So how does breathing happen? The breathing process starts in the blood. All of our cells are continually active doing whatever it is they do. A by-product of their activity is carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is an acid. The part of our brain that controls breathing monitors the acid / CO2 levels in our blood. When CO2 levels reach a certain level we breathe in oxygen and blow out carbon dioxide, thus lowering the acid / CO2 level. Because those cells are continually doing what they do, creating more and more CO2 we continually breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

The first thing that happens when we take breath is the diaphragm contracts. The diaphragm is a muscle that runs side to side below the lungs. Think of it as a floor the lungs sit on. It contracts or tightens like any other muscle. When the diaphragm contracts it drops down. When it drops the lungs go down with it, which results in them expanding and you breathe in. When the diaphragm relaxes it returns to the original position, pushing up on the lungs, causing you to breathe out.

In simpler terms correct breathing as known as "abdominal" or "belly" breathing. f you’re breathing properly, your lower belly will rise more than your chest.

There are many reasons why healthy people don’t breathe correctly. It could be malfunction, stress, fear, pain, or maybe just trying to make the stomach look tighter. All of these will lead to shallow breathing, which will decrease the amount of oxygen you bring in.

So, how are you breathing? Take a tape measure around your waist, just below your belly button. Pull the tape measure snug, taking note of what the measurement it. Take a deep breath and notice how much your belly expands with a deep breath. Do the same thing two more times. If your belly is not expanding by an inch or more you’re not breathing correctly.

Improper breathing can contribute to headaches, dizziness, fibromyalgia, numbness, sciatica, insomnia, neck pain, back pain as well making it more difficult for your body to heal.

Proper breathing will result in more relaxation, lower heart rate and overall better function because your tissues are receiving adequate oxygen.

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Causes of Numbness

Numbness can have several different causes. In fact, on one site they list 475 causes of numbness. That’s a lot! That tells us several things. One, we can’t really use numbness as a way to diagnose anything. Meaning, numbness as a symptom, doesn’t mean very much all by itself. It means that diagnosing numbness can take some work. Also, if there are 475 causes to numbness there are probably a lot of people who experience numbness. Thus, understanding what causes numbness and how to eliminate it can be quite valuable.

To simplify numbness I classify those 475 causes into three categories. Category number one is where a person has the pain, burning and numbness that is due to a nerve being compressed somewhere in their body. I should also point out that compressive lesions are far more common in the arms and legs than they are in the spine. If someone has a condition where a nerve is actually being compressed this is identified by atrophy in the distal musculature innervated by that nerve. For example, the Median nerve is a nerve that originates in the neck, travels by the shoulder, down the arm and eventually into the hand. If this nerve is compressed somewhere in it’s course we will first see atrophy, or a withering of the muscles in the hands. An easy place to notice this is in the that meaty area below the thumb when looking at the palm.

Another thing to make clear is that your doctor may have said “you’ve got a pinched nerve” – when you really don’t. Often times we doctors will use this analogy as a simple way of explaining this complicated process.

Category number two is where the cause is related to a disease process. An example of this is the numbness and burning associated with diabetes.
To be honest I typically don’t see people with this cause of numbness because in those instances I’m not the first place someone will go.

Category number three is what is numbness that has a central cause. By central I mean brain or spinal cord. For example, have you ever spoken to someone who has lost one of their extremities? If so, ask them if their missing leg or foot ever hurts. It’s called phantom pain. The foot isn’t there but the part of the brain and spinal cord that would control that foot is still intact. So if the area of the brain or spinal cord that represents the foot has a problem the person may FEEL pain, numbness or burning in their foot – even when it’s not there. The same thing happens in numbness. For example, when someone wears a cast after breaking a bone what is that body part like when the cast comes off? It’s smaller, weaker, and kind of shriveled. It’s called atrophy and that’s what happens when any body part doesn’t receive adequate stimulation. Well the same thing can happen in your brain. If a part of your brain fails to receive adequate input from your body it gets weaker and the part of the body that it controls can experience pain, numbness and burning.

As a neurologically trained chiropractor I have discovered diagnosis & treatment measures that are highly effective in permanently eliminating numbness due to causes in the first and third categories.

If you or someone you know experiences numbness and you would like to find a solution please visit www.AskDrNed.com where you can watch videos on numbness, listen to podcasts, read my blog, see me on facebook, follow me on twitter and subscribe to my newsletter.

If you would like to schedule a complimentary visit with me call or text my office at 801-225-1311