Your Most Powerful Pain Relief Tool? It Might Just Be Your Breath
The Breath-Spine Connection: What the Latest Research Says About Breathing for Neck and Back Pain Relief
Evidence-Based Insights for Chiropractic Patients
Executive Chiropractic of Iowa is committed to sharing the latest research to help you get the best results from your care — and one of the most exciting recent findings is about something you do around 20,000 times a day: breathing.
Breathing is rarely the first thing people associate with neck or back pain relief — but perhaps it should be. The science, however, tells a different story — one where your breathing pattern plays a surprisingly significant role in pain levels, muscle tension, and spinal health.
THE NECK PAIN CONNECTION
A 2025 clinical trial published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine reported that patients with neck pain who followed a structured breathing program experienced significant reductions in both pain and disability. (1) Participants also showed measurable improvements in their breathing patterns, suggesting a meaningful link between how we breathe and how our neck muscles function. Poor breathing mechanics — such as shallow chest breathing — can overload the accessory muscles of the neck and upper shoulders, impacting chronic tension and pain. Teaching patients to breathe diaphragmatically helps unburden those overworked muscles and restore healthier movement patterns. Your West Des Moines chiropractor knows it takes time and is here to go along that path with you.
BREATHING AND LOW BACK PAIN
The diaphragm is not just a breathing muscle — it plays a key role in spinal stability. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis by Chen and colleagues in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation confirmed that breathing exercises can effectively lower pain intensity and disability in people with chronic non-specific low back pain. (2) When the diaphragm contracts properly, it increases intra-abdominal pressure, which helps stabilize the lumbar spine — much like a natural internal brace. Patients who practice diaphragmatic and controlled breathing exercises may experience less strain on the structures of the lower back during daily activities.
BROADER EVIDENCE FOR SPINAL PAIN RELIEF
A wide-ranging 2025 review published in Clinical Rehabilitation pooled evidence from multiple studies to examine how breathing interventions perform across different types of spinal pain. (3) Their findings position breathing exercises as a powerful complement to the kind of hands-on care — such as spinal manipulation and soft tissue work — that sits at the heart of the chiropractic treatment at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa. As part of a well-rounded chiropractic care plan, breathing exercises may help patients get more out of their treatment and maintain results longer. The goal of care at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa is to get the most out of your treatment plan!
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Breathing exercises are among the most accessible tools in pain management — free to do, safe for almost everyone, and available to you any time, any place. Whether you're dealing with a stiff neck from desk work or chronic low back pain, adding guided breathing to your daily routine may amplify the benefits of your chiropractic care. Ask your chiropractor at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa whether diaphragmatic breathing or other techniques are appropriate for your own condition.
CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kurt Olding on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the importance of understanding the latest in spinal research as well as the benefits of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
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