narrowed, making it hard to breath in and out. The major
symptom is breathlessness. This usually starts during exercise
or when walking up hill, but as the lungs condition worsens,
breathlessness can occur with everyday activities and
becomes extremely debilitating.
What is bronchitis?
Bronchitis occurs when the bronchial tubes become
inflamed and swollen. Excess mucus is produced as a result
and clogs the airways. Sometimes the muscles surrounding
the airways also tighten causing bronchospasm and this
together with the swollen, narrowed airways makes it
difficult to get enough air in and out of the lungs. Symptoms
of bronchitis include a persistent cough that brings up
mucus, wheezing and shortness of breath.
and carbon dioxide elimination, resulting in an altered
blood pH. He further claims that this state, produced by
incorrect breathing, causes or contributes to a vast range
of symptoms ranging from muscular pain and tremors,
anxiety and associated muscle tension, fatigue and sleep
disturbances, to gastrointestinal problems and heart
palpitations. It certainly seems physiologically plausible
that insufficient oxygen and blood pH change could result
in such broad ranging symptoms, but mainstream medical
research has yet to concur, stating that there is currently
insufficient evidence to support this theory.
The overwhelming number one cause of both bronchitis
and emphysema (and it goes without saying lung cancer) is
smoking and giving up is the single most important step you
can take to both prevent and treat the disease. Frequent
chest infections are common and so if you suffer from any
form of COPD speak to your doctor about a flu vaccination
and any other medication that may help. It is also known
that emphysema can be hereditary – if you have a family
member with the disease you may be susceptible and
it is even more important that you avoid smoking and
smoky environments since passive smoking can be equally
harmful. Dusty environments are also damaging to lungs so
wear a mask when working in such conditions.
But putting lung disease aside, can how we breathe
affect our general state of health? Many Eastern health
philosophies and practices have claimed for years that
it does. If you have ever practised yoga or meditation
for example, breathing is a central focus. The belief is
that breathing incorrectly leads to the poor functioning
of practically every body system including digestion,
respiration, metabolism and the immune system.
Furthermore they claim that correct breathing is not a
natural process, or has for many reasons been lost into
adulthood, but needs to be taught, and once mastered
can improve both physical and mental health, increase
the ability to concentrate, promote relaxation and relieve
stress. Western medicine has until now largely ignored
these ideas, but there is an increasing interest in the use of
breathin g techniques both to assist those with lung disease
to breathe more easily and effectively, as well as being
enormously beneficial for all, particularly for relieving stress
and anxiety.
Sydney-based physiotherapist Anna-Louise Bouvier says
that at least 60 per cent of us are poor breathers, and
anecdotally (from those she sees in her practice) this figure
may be as high as 80 per cent. It seems to be a chicken and
the egg scenario whereby stress, anxiety and poor posture
affects breathing, while poor breathing likewise increases
the level of stress and anxiety, and even contributes to poor
posture by utilising the wrong muscles and encouraging
slumping. Leon Chaitow, a UK-based holistic health
practitioner, lectures and publishes widely on what he
terms “breathing pattern disorders” (BPD). He claims
that BPDs are extremely common and disturb the blood
biochemistry by affecting the balance of oxygen uptake
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WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2014