After a major abdominal surgery, such as a hysterectomy or a C-section, people may experience pain long after their primary care physician clears them for “normal” activity. This is mainly because healing takes time as a complex system of nerves and muscles is often disrupted during abdominal surgery.
At One Core Repair, we are committed to providing women with a more comprehensive postpartum or post-surgical experience after their recovery phase — including breathing exercises to help relieve abdominal pain and discomfort. Keep reading to learn more about how our at-home core strengthening exercises and breathing program can help foster healing.
A Closer Look at Breathing
Everyone understands the concept of breathing where our bodies take in oxygen, then exchanged it into carbon dioxide in our lungs, and expelled. Unfortunately, when our bodies experience pain, we subconsciously hold-our breath — disrupting proper breathing techniques. This not only can have an impact on our energy levels but can also deprive our cells of important oxygen, inadvertently causing more pain.
Chest Breathing vs. Stomach Breathing
Most people breathe using their chest muscles, but this can actually contribute to abdominal pain. When you breathe using your chest muscles, the muscles in your abdomen are not used as much as they should be. This can cause the muscles in your abdomen to become weak and contribute to pain.
Stomach breathing, on the other hand, helps to strengthen the abdominal muscles and can help to reduce abdominal pain. To stomach breathe, simply place your hand on your stomach and focus on breathing so that your stomach expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale.
Benefits of Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises have a variety of benefits, including reducing stress, tension, and pain in the body. Additionally, breathing exercises can help to improve circulation, increase oxygenation of the blood, and speed up the healing process.
Breathing Exercises to Reduce Pain
Another reason breathing exercises may help relieve abdominal pain is that they can help to strengthen the core muscles. The core muscles are responsible for supporting the spine and the abdominal organs. If these muscles are weak, it can lead to pain in the abdomen. Strengthening the core muscles can help reduce the amount of pain that is experienced.
Are you ready to start practicing some deep breathing exercises to help relieve your abdominal pain? One Core Repair can help! Our at-home breathing program is a great way to start learning how to properly engage your core muscles and improve your breathing technique, both of which can help to reduce abdominal pain. Get started today!
Experience the Power of Proper Breathing