Respiratory therapy deals with functional disorders and diseases of the lungs and vocal apparatus. It works both preventively and as a result of serious surgery or lung dysfunction.
What does respiratory therapy help with?
Respiratory therapy is mainly used to treat the following health deficits:
- Prevent pneumonia (pneumonia prophylaxis),
- Loosen mucus in the lung area (secretion solution and transport) as well as.
- Establish or support a stable bronchial system. This is especially true in obstructive diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma and cystic fibrosis.
This form of respiratory therapy is designed to reduce respiratory distress by mobilizing the chest while improving vital capacity. The breathing work should also be facilitated by loosening the skin, connective tissue and muscles of the upper body. Under the guidance of a trained therapist, it is possible to refine breathing techniques to improve oxygenation of body tissues. The diaphragm is particularly important in this process. Deep abdominal breathing can be trained. The elderly and bedridden can use respiratory therapy to prevent atrophy of their respiratory organs. During pregnancy, breathing exercises are a fundamental part of preparing for childbirth.
Respiratory therapy for diseases
Increasingly, respiratory therapy is gaining importance in medicine. It has been proven that proper breathing improves blood circulation and thus optimizes oxygen supply to the entire organism. Asthmatics in particular practice breathing in a specific posture – the coachman’s seat. Here, the legs are slightly spread, the feet are completely on the floor, the upper body is slightly bent forward, and the forearms are supported on the thighs. In this way, the chest is relieved of the weight of the shoulder girdle, and one can breathe in more deeply.
Breathing therapy is also important for patients with chronic bronchial diseases or after operations in the area of the chest. The bronchi are decongested via the so-called lip-brake, a special breathing technique. One breathes in normally through the nose and out slowly through the mouth. When exhaling, the lips are slightly pressed together as if one were exhaling against a resistance. This prolongs the exhalation phase and the bronchi decompress.
Therapy with the breath
Breath therapy as self-awareness and self-help is counted among the so-called alternative healing methods. There are numerous approaches to breath therapy as self-awareness. All breathing schools assume that the breath is the most intensively connected with all other levels of the human being. All stimuli that flow into the human being from the outside or from the inside can change the way of breathing. Therefore, by working on the breath, it is possible to reach and harmonize every level of the human being.
Some breath therapists work with the so-called “unconscious breath” of the patient, others with the “voluntary breath” or the “admitted breath”. The different variants of therapy with the breath therefore differ in nuances, but not in the basic approach.
