Breathing is one of the most essential functions of a healthy life. It’s also one of the most overlooked. Beyond a quick blood oxygen check and a few deep breaths at a doctor’s visit, most people never have their breathing fully evaluated.
Are you dealing with ongoing neck tension, jaw pain, or headaches that won’t go away? Do you snore, or have you ever been diagnosed with sleep apnea? Have you wondered whether something as basic as how you breathe could be part of the problem?
Keep reading to learn about One2One Physical Therapy’s comprehensive approach to evaluating and treating breathing dysfunction.
More Than Just the Lungs
Healthy breathing depends on a whole system working together, including:
- The nose and nasal passages
- The mouth, throat, and neck
- The rib cage
- The abdomen
- The diaphragm, the primary muscle of inhalation
To understand how someone breathes, we need to evaluate this entire system, including the diaphragm’s position and how well it functions.
When the Diaphragm Loses Its Advantage
When the body’s alignment is off, the diaphragm can shift out of the position it needs to expand the lungs effectively. When that happens, other muscles step in to help pull air in. These secondary muscles sit in the neck, upper chest, and shoulders, and they work closely with the jaw.
These muscles weren’t designed to do this job all day. When this becomes your normal breathing pattern, it can lead to:
- Head, neck, shoulder, and jaw tension
- Reduced airway space
- Sleep disturbances
Over time, this compensatory pattern can create chronic tension that contributes to pain, sleep-disordered breathing, and other symptoms.
The Missing Link in Many Treatment Plans
Traditional treatment often focuses on the joints and muscles where pain shows up, without looking at how breathing influences them. For some patients, a dysfunctional breathing pattern is a primary driver of their muscle and joint pain. When breathing isn’t addressed, symptoms may keep coming back.
Signs Your Breathing May Need Attention
You may benefit from an airway-focused assessment if you’re experiencing:
- Neck pain
- Jaw pain or TMJ dysfunction
- Headaches
- Shoulder pain
- Snoring or sleep difficulties
- Swallowing difficulties
- Trouble breathing through your nose
Improving your breathing isn’t as simple as paying more attention to it. It takes a precise assessment of your diaphragm and whole-body alignment to know what your body needs.
Our Approach at One2One Physical Therapy
We assess and treat from a whole-body perspective, and that includes the entire airway. Our evaluation looks at the alignment of your:
- Head, including your orofacial and bite (occlusion) patterns
- Spine
- Rib cage
- Pelvis
Each of these gives us clues about the root cause of your symptoms. Our approach is grounded in the science of the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI), a framework that connects breathing, posture, and movement, and we have seen great results with our patients using it.
A Collaborative Approach
Some patients need care from more than one discipline. That’s why we collaborate with top dentists in the area who focus on airway health, and we work alongside your physician or sleep specialist when sleep-disordered breathing is a concern. This interdisciplinary approach helps us provide the most complete care for patients whose needs extend beyond physical therapy.
Ready to Breathe Better?
Are you ready to get to the root cause of your symptoms, sleep better, and feel healthier?
Schedule your airway assessment with us today! Email us at info@one2onephysicaltherapy.com
We look forward to meeting you and helping you breathe easier.