Breathing exercises — making more room for oxygen can improve health HEALTH & WELLNESS

BY BRENDA EGGERT BRADER

Problems breathing can affect quality of life, especially when walking. But, it can get better.

“Typically, when a person has shortness of breath, they consult with their doctor first and if they don’t already have a pulmonologist specializing in breathing and lung disorders, they should get one,” said Mathew Kronman, a physical therapist who is director of Florida Therapy Center of Melbourne. “The pulmonologist would diagnose conditions of shortness of breath and refer the patient to a pulmonary rehabilitation associate or help with medications for breathing.”

Breathing exercises are an enormous help.

“Diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing helps you to breathe more efficiently,” said Bonnie McClelland, a certified clinical exercise physiologist with Rockledge Regional Medical Center. “You need to get the body well oxygenated.

“Belly breathing helps you to breathe more efficiently. A lot of people hunch up their shoulders when they breathe, so relax shoulders and use the belly or diaphragmatic method instead of shoulders. Combine that with pursed lip breathing that just means breathe in through the nose and out pursed lips. Breathe out twice as long as you breathe in. It is commonly explained as ‘smell the roses and blow out the candle.’ That helps with lung disease and helps you to get rid of carbon dioxide, making more room for oxygen to breathe in,” McClelland said.

“If walking at a slow pace, use your feet to time yourself in breathing,” McClelland said. “Counting so many steps to breathe in, so many to breathe out. This helps anybody with a breathing disorder.”

If someone is struggling and short of breath, there are techniques to recover.

“Exercise is shown to be just as competent to decrease shortness of breath to increase your life and get you out into the community,” Kronman said. “They may be able to walk more and feel better about themselves. When you can’t breathe, you appear to be anxious all the time. Exercise and improved breathing also decrease the chance of sickness and pneumonia.

“When they have a lung condition, the muscles become weak,” Kronman said.

“Body exercising through the help of machines also yields better breathing as experienced through licensed respiratory therapists,” Kronman said. “People receive education to deal with lung conditions, learn exercises, improve muscles for respiration and cardiovascular endurance and strength, socialization and nutritional components to rehabilitation.”

No matter if the patient has breathing problems from COPD, COVID complications, asthma or perhaps emphysema, a series of physical exercises will help the patient resume daily activities again SL

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