We’ve all been out of breath after working out. Maybe you suddenly find it hard to breathe when you’re doing an activity, like playing a sport. When you’re exercising, breathwork is essential. If you find that you’re struggling with breathwork when working out, physical therapy is worth trying.
Many people only associate physical therapy with helping patients recover from injuries or manage chronic pain. However, it can also help to boost your physical capabilities and athletic performance. Read on to learn how physical therapy can help you improve your breathwork.
3 ways you can improve your breathwork during exercise using physical therapy
During your first appointment, your physical therapist will assess the aspects of your general fitness. They’ll determine what is impacting your breathwork and collaborate with you to determine the best ways to improve it. Treatment may include:
- Increasing lung capacity — Your lung capacity refers to the amount of air that your lungs can hold after inhalation. By improving your lung capacity, you’re able to move oxygen quickly throughout your body. This leads to better breathwork during exercise. A physical therapist can guide you through breathing exercises that can increase your lung capacity. Examples include diaphragmatic breathing and pursed-lip breathing.
- Improving aerobic capacity — Your aerobic capacity is how your body uses oxygen efficiently during exercise to produce energy. A physical therapist can guide you through conditioning exercises that can increase your aerobic capacity. Possible exercises include resistance training and breathing exercises. These ensure that your lungs get the oxygen they need so you can continue breathing properly while working out.
- Learning proper warmup — We all know that warming up before exercise is important for reducing injury. However, it also plays a role in your breathwork. It helps your body prepare by gradually increasing your breathing rate so that you don’t suddenly feel out of breath. A physical therapist will show you how to properly warm up before exercising, including breathing exercises.
Panther Physical Therapy can help you stop getting out of breath when exercising
You likely don’t give your breathwork much thought on a daily basis until you suddenly feel like you can’t breathe while running. If you’re an athlete or you live an active lifestyle, working on your breathwork can play a huge role in your overall fitness journey.
At Panther Physical Therapy, we can help you improve your athletic performance by guiding you through breathing exercises to improve your lung and aerobic capacity, as well as the effectiveness of your warmup.
Call us or request an appointment today to improve your breathing when exercising.