Breathing Retraining - Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Smoking Cessation

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Breathing retraining

Just as a trumpet player or singer learns to breathe in deeply and breathe out slowly to make smooth and sustained music, pulmonary disease patients learn how to modulate their breathing to get through everyday activities more easily. One of the biggest problems you may have is running out of air while you are exercising or exerting yourself. If this happens, you may pant or hold your breath, which can tire you out. Breathing retraining aims to solve this problem by teaching you strategies to improve your breathing efficiency and lessen your symptoms.

Breathing retraining is usually guided by either a respiratory therapist or a physical therapist. It may include such techniques as paced breathing, pursed-lip breathing, and diaphragmatic breathing. With paced breathing, you inhale just before you start a physical activity — getting out of a chair, for example — and then exhale slowly as you carry it out. The therapist may tell you to break down more complex activities, such as getting in and out of a car, into a series of breaths: You take a breath when you reach the car door and exhale as you open it, then you inhale again before you sit down on the car seat, and so on. The therapist may also suggest you purse your lips as you breathe out to slow down your exhalation. Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique musicians use to fill their lungs to capacity by feeling their abdomen move out when they inhale. It teaches you to use your breathing muscles more efficiently and makes paced breathing more effective. Many patients who use these breathing techniques have more stamina and less breathlessness and are able to participate in more activities.

Last updated:	May 23, 2007