As a chiropractor, I spend a great deal of my day helping people understand the connection between how their bodies move, how they feel, and how they function. One of the most overlooked, but most powerful, tools for improving posture, decreasing pain, and enhancing core stability is something we all do thousands of times a day: breathing.

Most people assume breathing is automatic and, therefore, not worth much attention. While it’s true that breathing happens without conscious effort, how you breathe makes a profound difference in muscle tension, spinal stability, and nervous system regulation. In my clinical experience, many patients with chronic neck pain, shoulder tension, headaches, and even low back pain are not breathing efficiently. Instead of using their diaphragm and abdominal muscles, they rely heavily on accessory breathing muscles in the neck and upper chest.

This blog will explore why abdominal (also called diaphragmatic) breathing is so important, how poor breathing patterns contribute to neck and accessory muscle tension, and how proper breathing can dramatically improve core engagement and overall movement quality.

Understanding How We’re Designed to Breathe

The primary muscle of respiration is the diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. When you inhale properly, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward, creating negative pressure that draws air into the lungs. As it descends, the abdominal contents gently move outward, causing the belly to expand.

This is abdominal breathing.

When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and rises back upward, air leaves the lungs, and the abdominal wall gently recoils. This pattern is efficient, relaxed, and biomechanically sound.

However, many people have lost this natural breathing pattern.

Instead of breathing low and wide into the abdomen and rib cage, they breathe high and shallow into the chest. This pattern shifts the workload away from the diaphragm and onto secondary, or accessory, breathing muscles.

What Are Accessory Breathing Muscles?

1. Upper trapezius
2. Sternocleidomastoid (SCM)
3. Levator scapulae
4. Scalene muscles
5. Pectoralis minor

These muscles are designed to assist with breathing during times of increased demand, such as intense exercise or respiratory distress. They are not meant to be the primary breathing muscles at rest.

When these muscles are chronically overused for breathing, they become tight, overactive, and fatigued. This often shows up clinically as:

• Chronic neck and shoulder tension
• Stiffness or pain at the base of the skull
• Headaches and migraines
• Forward head posture
• Jaw tension and TMJ issues

In other words, many of the complaints people bring into a chiropractic office are directly related to how they breathe throughout the day.

Why So Many People Breathe Incorrectly

There are several reasons dysfunctional breathing patterns are so common today:

1. Chronic Stress – Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” response), which naturally promotes shallow, rapid breathing. Over time, this becomes the default pattern.
2. Prolonged Sitting and Poor Posture – Sitting for long periods, especially in a slouched or forward-head posture, compresses the diaphragm and rib cage, making abdominal breathing more difficult and encouraging chest breathing instead.
3. Core Weakness or Disconnection – If the deep core muscles are not functioning properly, the body often compensates by stabilizing through tension in the neck, shoulders, and lower back.
4. Lack of Awareness – Many adults simply never think about how they breathe. Without awareness, dysfunctional patterns go uncorrected.

The Link Between Breathing and Neck Tension

One of the most important concepts I teach patients is this: breathing is a postural activity.

When breathing mechanics are poor, posture inevitably suffers. If you’re constantly lifting your rib cage and shoulders to inhale, your neck muscles never get a chance to relax. Over time, this creates a state of chronic muscle tone, reduced circulation, and trigger point development.

In the chiropractic setting, we may adjust the spine, mobilize joints, and release soft tissue, but if the patient continues to breathe improperly, those tight muscles are continually being reinforced.

Abdominal breathing allows the neck and shoulder muscles to stand down from their breathing duties. When the diaphragm does its job, the accessory muscles can return to their true role: supporting head and shoulder movement, not sustaining respiration.

Breathing and the Core: More Than Just Abs

When most people hear the word “core,” they think of six-pack abs. In reality, the core is a complex, integrated system designed to stabilize the spine and pelvis.
The deep core system includes:

• Diaphragm (top)
• Transverse abdominis (front and sides)
• Multifidus (back)
• Pelvic floor (bottom)

These muscles work together to create intra-abdominal pressure, which stabilizes the spine during movement.

Here’s the key point: the diaphragm is both a breathing muscle and a core muscle.

If you are not breathing with your diaphragm, your core cannot function optimally.

How Abdominal Breathing Improves Core Engagement

When you inhale diaphragmatically, the diaphragm descends, and the abdominal wall gently expands. This expansion is not a “relaxation” of the core; it is a controlled, coordinated movement.

As the diaphragm moves downward:

• The transverse abdominis responds by eccentrically controlling abdominal expansion ● The pelvic floor lengthens slightly
• The deep spinal stabilizers engage reflexively

On exhalation, these muscles recoil and gently contract.

This rhythmic pressure system creates a stable yet adaptable spine, exactly what we want for daily activities, exercise, and injury prevention.

In contrast, chest breathing disrupts this system. The diaphragm remains elevated, the abdominal wall stays tense or inactive, and spinal stability is compromised. This often leads to excessive bracing, low back stiffness, or reliance on superficial muscles for stability.

Breathing, Movement, and Pain

One of the most powerful shifts patients experience when learning abdominal breathing is improved movement efficiency.

Proper breathing:

• Reduces unnecessary muscle tension
• Improves spinal alignment
• Enhances coordination between the upper and lower body
• Decreases the load on the neck and lower back

For athletes, this means better performance and reduced injury risk. For desk workers, it means less pain at the end of the day. For chronic pain sufferers, it can be a missing piece that finally allows progress.

I often tell patients: You cannot out-stretch or out-adjust a poor breathing pattern.

Nervous System Benefits of Abdominal Breathing

Beyond musculoskeletal health, abdominal breathing has a profound effect on the nervous system.

Slow, deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, promoting parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) activity. This helps:

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Lower muscle tone
• Improve sleep quality
• Enhance digestion
• Support healing and recovery

When the nervous system is calmer, muscles naturally relax, pain sensitivity decreases, and the body becomes more receptive to chiropractic care and rehabilitation exercises.

Common Signs You’re Not Breathing Abdominally

You may benefit from improving your breathing if you notice:

• Your shoulders rise when you inhale
• Your belly stays flat or pulls inward when breathing
• Frequent neck or upper back tightness
• Difficulty engaging your core during exercise
• Feeling short of breath during mild activity
• Jaw clenching or headaches

The good news is that breathing patterns are highly trainable at any age.

How to Practice Abdominal Breathing

Here is a simple starting exercise I often prescribe to patients:

1. Lie on your back with knees bent or sit upright with good posture
2. Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your abdomen
3. Inhale slowly through your nose
4. Allow the belly and lower ribs to expand while keeping the chest relatively relaxed
5. Exhale slowly through the mouth or nose, letting the belly gently fall
6. Move smoothly and without force

Start with 5 minutes once or twice per day. Over time, this pattern should begin to carry over into daily life and movement.

Integrating Breathing Into Daily Activities

Breathing retraining shouldn’t be limited to the floor. Once you’re comfortable, integrate abdominal breathing into:

• Sitting at your desk
• Walking
• Strength training
• Stretching
• Lifting objects
• Chiropractic rehab exercises

The goal is to make diaphragmatic breathing your default, not just an exercise.

A Chiropractor’s Perspective: Treat the Cause, Not Just the Symptom

In chiropractic care, our goal is not just to relieve pain but to improve function and resilience. Abdominal breathing is a foundational skill that supports spinal health, posture, and efficient movement.

When patients learn to breathe properly:

• Adjustments hold longer
• Muscles respond better to treatment
• Core strength improves naturally
• Neck and shoulder tension decreases
• Overall body awareness improves

Breathing may seem simple, but its impact is anything but small.

Final Thoughts

If you’re dealing with chronic neck tension, poor posture, or difficulty engaging your core, don’t overlook your breathing. Abdominal breathing is one of the most accessible and effective ways to reduce reliance on accessory muscles, calm the nervous system, and restore proper core function.

As a chiropractor, I’ve seen firsthand how transformative this shift can be. When you breathe better, you move better, and when you move better, your body has the opportunity to heal, adapt, and thrive.

Sometimes, the most powerful changes start with something as simple as a breath.

Content provided by Dr. Chloe Goodwin