Sports and Exercise
Since the London Olympics there has been increasing focus on identifying those athletes where dysfunctional breathing patterns are contributing to performance.
Attention needs to be paid to breathing outside the laboratory or the sports field, restoring good basic function at rest first.
Breathing re-training has been shown to:
Reduce performance anxiety, sympathetic vasoconstriction and impaired locomotor blood flow associated with increased work of breathing. (1,2)
Reduce perception of dyspnoea and enhance endurance performance. (3)
Outside the elite sport world, exercise can induce hyperventilation, anxiety, bronchospasm and vocal cord dysfunction. Restoration of normal respiratory biomechanics and physiology will recover function, reduce anxiety and dyspnoea and encourage participation in exercise.
We run a specialised programme for athletes and anyone participating in exercise or performance of any kind.
The focus is on restoring baseline calm and autonomic balance for optimising rest and recovery
Identifying physiological dysfunction ( Capnography)
Assessment of respiratory muscle function ( POWERBreathe® K5)
Functional skill specific training including strength and conditioning
This programme is suitable for anyone wanting to improve performance including those who may be limited in participating in sport by
Exercise induced asthma
Vocal cord dysfunction
Performance related anxiety
Attention needs to be paid to breathing outside the laboratory or the sports field, restoring good basic function at rest first.
Breathing re-training has been shown to:
Reduce performance anxiety, sympathetic vasoconstriction and impaired locomotor blood flow associated with increased work of breathing. (1,2)
Reduce perception of dyspnoea and enhance endurance performance. (3)
Outside the elite sport world, exercise can induce hyperventilation, anxiety, bronchospasm and vocal cord dysfunction. Restoration of normal respiratory biomechanics and physiology will recover function, reduce anxiety and dyspnoea and encourage participation in exercise.
We run a specialised programme for athletes and anyone participating in exercise or performance of any kind.
The focus is on restoring baseline calm and autonomic balance for optimising rest and recovery
Identifying physiological dysfunction ( Capnography)
Assessment of respiratory muscle function ( POWERBreathe® K5)
Functional skill specific training including strength and conditioning
This programme is suitable for anyone wanting to improve performance including those who may be limited in participating in sport by
Exercise induced asthma
Vocal cord dysfunction
Performance related anxiety
References
(1) Jerome A. Dempsey, Lee Romer, Joshua Rodman, Jordan Miller, Curtis Smith.Consequences of exercise-induced respiratory muscle workRespiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.Volume 151, Issues 2–3, 28 April 2006, Pages 242–250
(2) Sheel A, Derchak P, Morgan B, Pegelow D, Jaques A, Dempsey J. Fatiguing Inspiratory work causes reflex reduction in resting leg bloodflow in humans. J Physiol 2001; 537 : 277-289
(3) Vickery R. The effect of breathing pattern retraining on performance in competitive cyclists. 2007
