It’s a new year! Time for a new look! It’s a small change but then often small changes have a big impact. After a relaxing Christmas and New Year getting off the couch and going for a walk every day will make a huge difference to your mood, your energy levels, and your health. Gradually adding length or intensity to your walks will change your life! Don’t think of it as a New Year’s Resolution. Think of it as the start of a ‘Healthier You For Life’!

WHEN BREATHING BECOMES STRESSFUL

Making small changes, like how you breathe, can result in better thinking patterns, less stress, and a greater level of kindness to yourself. Before you reach for pills, tablets, alcohol, comfort eating etc., there are many different versions of guided meditations on You Tube that can help. They are best taken advantage of just before you switch out your light at night. They help you to slow those thoughts in your mind and find calm while teaching you how to breathe deeper and slower.

But sometimes, your breathing isn’t affected by stress. it could be because of asthma, other lung issues, or strokes.

What Can Cause Difficulty With Your Breathing

Do any of these symptoms reflect your experience?

• Coughing, which worsens if you have a respiratory infection like the flu
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath, especially during any physical activity, even walking a short distance
• Chest tightness, pain, or heaviness
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping, especially if you have sleep apnea

If you said ‘yes’, you may have asthma, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), or have had a stroke. This is not an exhaustive list as there are several different respiratory illnesses. Are you unconvinced that Chiropractic care can’t really help with your breathing?

Round your shoulders, and hunch over. Now, take a deep breath, being conscious of how it feels to do that. Sit up straight or stand up, pull your shoulders back, lift your chin so that it’s parallel with the floor…and take a deep breath. Can you feel how much easier that is. That’s because your spine and ribs aren’t constricting your lungs, compressing your nervous system, or crowding your other organs. Your spine is your interior scaffolding! If that’s ‘out of whack’ everything, including your breathing, will be affected. Alleviating that constriction means your scaffolding has been straightened, strengthened, and become a better foundation for your body. Your nerves and lungs can stay healthy and function more easily, and life will be less stressful. Chiropractic care offers treatments that can help with breathing and lung function, even in patients who struggle because of asthma, serious lung disease, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

3 Benefits Of Chiropractic Care And A Properly Aligned Spine

• A properly aligned spine will release any compression of nerves. This relaxation comes with a great sense of relief. That relief makes you breathe deeper. Stress automatically constricts everything in your body. It can be so powerful that it can pull your spine out of alignment.
• Giving you more room to breathe. When your spine is properly aligned, reducing the pressure of your ribs on every organ, your lungs especially, will have more room within your body to work more easily and more comfortably.
• Giving you the ability to move – Stress pulling the spine out of alignment will also result in pain. It’s a double whammy as the pain will also cause you to take shallow breaths. Realigning your spine removes that discomfort, eases any muscle tension, and leaves you feeling better, able to move, and therefore breathe slower and deeper. Deep breathing keeps the stress down and makes it far more manageable.

So, take a deep breath and call your chiropractor today and book an appointment.

Yours in health,
Dr. Monica and Helen