Breathwork Basic 4: How Unconsciously Holding Our Breath Makes Physical Pain Worse

Sarah Jons Author

We're diving into the world of pain management, and how unconscious breath holding and strange breathing patterns can make things a whole lot worse

Hello, lovely readers! 

What's the Deal with Pain?

First things first, let's talk about the difference between chronic and acute pain. Think of acute pain as that annoying paper cut or a stubbed toe. It’s sharp, sudden, and usually doesn’t stick around for long. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is that unwelcome houseguest who overstays their welcome. It’s long-lasting and can hang around for months or even years.

The Unconscious Avoidance of Pain

Pain is a tricky customer, and our bodies often adapt to it in ways we’re not even aware of. Over time, chronic pain can lead to unconscious changes in how we breathe. The worse the pain and the longer it lasts, the bigger the changes.

The Breath-Holding Saga

When you trap your fingers in a drawer, what's the first thing you do? You hold your breath, right? And you might swear a bit too. This is a natural reaction to acute pain, and there's evidence suggesting that stimulating baroreceptors (little pressure sensors) by holding your breath can reduce the pain.

However, with chronic pain, like back pain or arthritis, baroreceptors aren’t much help. Holding your breath or breathing irregularly can actually make things worse.

Why Do We Do This?

When we feel pain, our body goes into “fight or flight” mode. It’s like our internal alarm system kicking in. But instead of helping, this response can make things worse.

• Muscle Tension: Holding your breath makes your muscles tense up, especially in your chest, shoulders, back and neck. Picture yourself as a tightly wound spring – it’s not comfortable!
• Reduced Oxygen: Shallow breathing means less oxygen gets to your muscles and organs. And guess what? Your body really needs oxygen to function well and heal.

Let's Talk The Pain Of Childbirth

If you’ve ever given birth, you will be familiar with the importance of breathing, and would have heard “take a deep breath”. There’s a reason for that! Labour pain is intense, but becoming aware of our breathing can help manage it. Breath-holding during labour can actually make the pain feel worse and make the process harder. Because it causes muscle tension and you don’t want to be tense in your uterus when you’re pushing out a baby the size of a melon. It’s a perfect example of how our breathing patterns can influence pain perception in a big way.

Nervous System Chaos

Your nervous system is like the control centre of your body. Breath-holding throws it out of whack.

• Sympathetic Dominance: Chronic pain keeps your body in a constant state of alertness – like being stuck in a permanent state of “the monster is under the bed!”
• Relaxation Inhibition: To manage pain, your body needs to relax. Breath-holding makes it hard for your body to switch to “rest and digest” mode, which is crucial for recovery.

Bad Habits

Breath-holding can lead to some pretty bad habits.

• Avoiding Movement: You might start avoiding activities that you think will cause pain. This leads to less movement, weaker muscles, and – you guessed it – more pain.
• Fear-Avoidance Cycle: Fear of pain makes you avoid activities, which increases your pain sensitivity and reduces your activity levels even more. It’s like a never-ending loop of misery.

Pain Perception

How you breathe affects how you feel pain.

• Heightened Sensitivity: Holding your breath over the long term can make you more sensitive to pain. It’s like turning up the volume on your pain receptors.
• Lower Pain Threshold: Chronic breath-holding can lower your pain threshold, making even small pains feel much worse.

Long-Term Changes in Breathing Patterns

• Deterioration of Healthy Breathing: We’re born with a natural, healthy way of breathing – deep and diaphragmatic. But chronic pain can mess with this, leading to shallow and irregular breathing over time.
• Impact of Chronic Pain: The longer and more intense the pain, the more pronounced these changes can become. Conditions like fibromyalgia or arthritis can significantly alter how we breathe, often without us even realising it.

The Mind Game

Pain isn’t just physical; it messes with your head too.

• Increased Anxiety: Holding your breath can make you feel more stressed and anxious. And when you’re anxious, you feel pain more intensely. It’s a vicious cycle.
• Hypervigilance: Chronic pain makes you super aware of every ache and twinge. This hyper-awareness can mess with your breathing patterns even more.

So...

Understanding how breath-holding and weird breathing patterns affect your pain is the first step to managing it better. So take a deep breath (literally), relax, and know that you have influence over your pain. 

Until next time, keep breathing and keep smiling!

Categories: : Breathwork Basics, Physical Pain