No need to panic over breathing disorder

JUST BREATHE: Stress or anxiety can lead to breathing problems.

By Clair McEntegart,
, Mangawhai Physiotherapy

Most people are aware of physiotherapists treating people for sporting injuries, sore backs and pulled muscles, but most are unaware of the work that physiotherapists do for people with breathing disorders. The most common complaint that we see is a condition known as hyperventilation syndrome. 

This is a breathing disorder in which a person breaths too deeply or more commonly too quickly. This can give the person symptoms such as chest pain, dizziness, tingling in fingers tips and around their mouth and may occur with a panic attack. If the condition has become chronic then the person may also suffer from sleep apnoea, which is when breathing stops during sleep. The body will wake up the person in order to start the body breathing again, resulting in poor quality sleep with multiple wake ups in the night, snoring and fatigue. 

People with hyperventilation feel that they are not getting enough air in their lungs, and therefore breathe even faster. This causes the person to have too little carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood and other tissues, which in turn causes the blood vessels to constrict causing the tingling and chest pain. This has a flow on effect – if the person continues to breath rapidly they will continue to reduce the levels of CO2 and therefore exacerbate the problem.

So what is the cause of hyperventilation? It is believed to be caused by psychological factors such as anxiety and stress. We all know the feeling when we are stressed of breathing shallowly, shoulders hunched up around our ears and heart racing. Hyperventilation can also occur with an infection, blood loss and heart attacks. One way of diagnosing hyperventilation is to breathe quickly for two minutes and see if this causes the persons symptoms to occur. Chest pain and tightening in the chest should always be checked first by a doctor to ensure there are no underlying heart conditions.

Treatment for hyperventilation is quite simple and involves retraining the person how to breathe correctly. People with hyperventilation will tend to breathe too quickly, using only the top part of their lungs and breathing very shallowly. In our bodies most of the important blood vessels that carry oxygen and CO2 are located at the base of the lungs, therefore it is important to take deep breaths to get the oxygen right to the base of the lungs. Practicing this regularly will help to retrain the body to breathe correctly and resolve the issue. 

If you think you or someone you know maybe suffering from hyperventilation syndrome and you would like some advice and education regarding breathing exercises and correction of the breathing technique then please call us at Mangawhai Physio and we will be happy to take you through this. 

www.mangawhaiphysiotherapy.co.nz