By Movement – Health & Wellness | Chiropractor Cromer · Collaroy · Dee Why · Narrabeen Mona Vale · Warriewood·

Breathing is something we do all day without thinking, but how we breathe has a huge impact on our muscles, posture, and even our recovery from pain. If you experience neck tension, headaches, or low back pain, your breathing pattern may be playing a bigger role than you’d expect.

Chiropractor demonstrating diaphragmatic belly breathing in Cromer on Sydney’s Northern Beaches — **Why Chest Breathing Contributes to Neck Pain**

When we’re stressed, rushing, sitting at a desk, surfing in cold water, or training hard, we tend to slip into shallow, upper-chest breathing.
This uses the **accessory neck muscles** — the scalenes, SCM, upper traps, and pec minor — far more than they’re meant to.

Over time, this can lead to:

neck pain and stiffness
tension headaches
decreased rib mobility
tightness through the upper back and shoulder girdle

Diaphragmatic (“Belly”) Breathing: A More Efficient Way to Breathe

Diaphragmatic breathing — sometimes called 360-degree belly breathing — shifts the workload from the neck to the diaphragm, the main muscle of breathing.

When the diaphragm contracts properly, it descends and creates expansion:

into the belly
into the sides of the waist
into the lower ribs and back

This full 360° movement:

reduces accessory neck muscle overuse
improves rib and thoracic mobility
allows more efficient oxygen exchange
reduces the sensation of tightness or breathlessness

Many of our clients across the Northern Beaches consistently find that once they learn to breathe diaphragmatically, their neck tension drops dramatically.

Breathing exercise for low back support at Movement Health & Wellness in Collaroy-Cromer region — **How Belly Breathing Supports a Rest-and-Digest State**

Diaphragmatic breathing activates the **parasympathetic nervous system**, shifting your body out of fight-or-flight mode.
Research shows slow, controlled breathing can:
reduce heart rate
lower stress hormones
calm the brain’s threat centres
improve pain tolerance and recovery
This is essential if you’re dealing with ongoing neck pain or back pain, especially if you're active, surf regularly, or work long hours at a desk.

The Low Back Connection: Intra-Abdominal Pressure & Spinal Support

Proper 360° belly breathing increases intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) — a natural system of spinal support.

Better IAP helps:

stabilise the lumbar spine
reduce strain during lifting, paddling, or daily movement
support discs and joints
improve core control without “bracing” or gripping

For many of our clients in Collaroy, Dee Why, Mona Vale, Narrabeen, and Cromer, back pain isn’t due to weak abs — it’s due to poor pressure management and an over-reliance on chest breathing.

Teaching the diaphragm to work properly is often the missing piece.

How to Practice 360° Breathing

Try this for 2–3 minutes per day:

Sit tall or lie on your back.
Place your hands around your lower ribs or sides of your waist.
Inhale through your nose and feel the breath expand in all directions — belly, sides, and back.
Exhale slowly and let your ribs soften.
Keep your neck and shoulders completely relaxed.

Gentle and slow is best — no forcing.

At Movement – Health & Wellness, we use evidence-based chiropractic care, hands-on treatment, and movement coaching to help you feel and function at your best. If you want to find out more, book in for a free discovery call today.

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References

Cefalì A, Santini D, Lopez G, et al. Effects of Breathing Exercises on Neck Pain Management: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. J Clin Med. 2025. PMID: 39941380
Jeong GH, et al. Effects of Telerehabilitation Combining Diaphragmatic Breathing Re-Education and Shoulder Stabilization Exercises on Neck Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial. 2024. PMID: 38541838
Jiang X, et al. Effects of breathing exercises on chronic low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. 2024. PMID: 37718775
Masroor S, et al. Effect of Adding Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises to Core Stabilization on Pain and Disability: RCT. 2023. PMID: 38205226
Otadi K, et al. Diaphragm training with electrical stimulation in athletes with chronic low back pain: RCT. 2021. PMID: 33663607
Hopper SI, et al. Effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing for reducing physiological and psychological stress: Systematic review. 2019. PMID: 31436595
Zaccaro A, et al. Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing: Systematic Review. 2018. PMID: 30245619
Fincham GW, et al. Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: Meta-analysis of RCTs. 2023.