Proper Breathing Mechanics

Breathing and oxygen:
In my office I like to keep things as simple as possible for my patients.  Previously, we talked about the proper mechanics of gait or walking.  Today I want to talk about the very simple act of breathing and some key strategies to enhance the amount of oxygen you get to your body.

In today's busy world various factors disrupt the simple act of breathing.  Stress, anxiety, and the mere act of sitting at your computer all day can hinder the act of respiration.  Stress and anxiety may cause one to take shallow rapid breaths with a focus on the contraction of the accessory muscles of respiration which generally include the small muscles in between you ribs called your intercostals that elevate the ribs and the scalene muscles and scm muscles that are positioned from around your clavicle to the mid portion of your neck and base of your skull.  I'll often find these muscles to be really tight in those people with headaches, tight shoulders, and sinus congestion which point to improper breathing as a factor.

Many of us understand the importance of oxygen in our lives.  Like gasoline for a car, oxygen is the fuel of our life.  It is responsible for producing cellular energy and thus the energy to make it through the day. Various enzymatic functions in the body rely on oxygen and therefore aiding in digestion among many other enzymatic processes.  Oxygen is used to help keep the internal environment of the body clean through various oxidation reactions that occur to help rid the body of harmful toxins.  And most importantly, oxygen is one of the brains primary nutrients to function.  The brain uses up 20% of the body's oxygen to function.  Without oxygen we would have a very hard time surviving.  A few strategies to increase your oxygen intake and efficiency:

1) Extending your neck and raising your chest.
2) Diaphragmatic breathing- as seen in video
3) Exercise
4) Getting checked for anemia
5) Making sure your lungs and heart work properly

Try 1-3 to the experience the benefits of proper breathing including reduced stress/anxiety, detoxifying effect, mental clarity, pain relief and even better moods!

-Dr. Pontarelli

Remember your New Year's Resolution?

Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day, everyday, no excuses. You can do all 30 minutes all at once or split them up in 10 minute increments throughout the day. Some ideas:

• Get off the bus or train a few stops early,  park the car farther away to extend your walk, bike to a train stop
• Wake up 15 minutes earlier and exercise as soon as you wake up, go to bed in your work-out outfit
• Walk your dog as much as the dogwalker or get a dog
• Work-out or walk during lunch hour, have sneakers in the car or at work to be prepared
• Create new social habits and/or get exercise buddy, i.e. meet a friend for a walk vs happy hour
• Do things you enjoy, i.e. take a dance class, golf, play tennis
• Invest in a jogging stroller if you have a toddler
• Do jumping jacks during commerical breaks
• Skip the elevator, take the stairs
• Buy a jump rope, try this routine:
  Minute 1: Jump in place to warm up (no rope).
  Minutes 2-4: Jump with a slight bounce between each rope jump.
  Minutes 5-7: Alternate feet (as if you were running in place).
  Minutes 7-9: Slalom jump (keeping feet together, jump a few inches to the right and then to the left as if jumping moguls).
  Minutes 9-10: Jump in place to cool down (no rope).
• Switch out your office chair for a Swiss exercise ball
• Join a charity race, do good, be social, stay active
• Pencil it into the calendar
• Start a garden in the spring, plow your driveway in the winter
• Motivate yourself with a great music playlist or an audiobook
• If you're a numbers person wear a pedometer, aim for 10,000 steps/day
• Explore the city by foot, we live in a great city for that!

Do you know someone that needs to get moving? Make it easy for them and forward them this list!

Exercise: The Best Preventative Medicine

There are many preventative measures one can take for better health including, maintaining a healthy weight, eating your fruits and veggies, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, etc. This video highlights how studies suggest that EXERCISING 30 minutes a day gives you the greatest return on investment, making the biggest difference in your health for your efforts.

For a complete articulation of the role of exercise as preventative medicine watch:

Some highlights include:

“Exercise can reduce the rates of pain and disability for arthritis patients, reduce the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s” 

“...Reduce the progressions of diabetes by 58%"

"....Reduce the risk of hip fracture in post-menopausal women by 41%"

"....Reduce anxiety by 48%"

"....Reduce depression by at least 30%”
"Low fitness is the strongest predictor of death, above obesity, smoking-related disease and high blood pressure.”*

Ways to Work 30 Minutes Into Your Day

*According to [a study led by] Steven Blair, Professor at Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina,