Respiratory physiotherapy and its techniques
A physiotherapist is not very funny to be called a masseuse. Consider that your knowledge and the pathologies you can deal with go much further, and that the classic "make me a massage" belits the wide range of resources available. This article is an example of a field that can treat a physio and that is surely unknown to many people: respiratory physiotherapy.
What is respiratory physiotherapy?
Respiratory physiotherapy encompasses the set of techniques aimed at preventing, stabilizing or treating problems related to the respiratory system or structures that influence it.
Thus, the main elements on which respiratory physiotherapy will influence will be lungs and respiratory muscles, both those that help with inspiration, and with expiration.
A little physiology
Within the inspiratory muscles the most important is the diaphragm, which originates and inserted in our sack grills and it is often said that it has a parachute shape. When it contracts, the space opens to the lungs so that they can expand and, unless we avoid it on purpose, the negative pressure of the lungs will make them be filled. External intercostal muscles also help in this function. These pull the ribs to open the sack grill and thus also provide more site to the lungs.
As for expiration, it should be noted that at rest it is done passively. After contracting them, the inspiratory muscles return to their original position, which decreases the space that the lungs can occupy. These can no longer contain the air inside, and it comes out by positive pressure. However, when we want to force a expiration, the abdominal musculature and internal intercostal muscles can exert strength on the rib cage to close it – such as when we cough, vomit or define.
Objectives and techniques
Now that we know the structures that we are going to treat, it is important to clarify the objective of respiratory physiotherapy.
The main objective is to achieve proper ventilation and perfusion or absorption of the air. That is, that enough oxygen arrives and that the lungs can pass it to the blood efficiently. Therefore, the secondary objective will be to eliminate respiratory secretions to ensure that alveoli are free and not blocked.
Respiratory Physiotherapy Techniques
- Diaphragmatic breathing: the first step will be to make sure to be breathing correctly. As we have seen, the diaphragm is the main muscle of inspiration, and therefore, it must be in good condition. Thus, we must get used to breathing swelling the belly, and not the type of breathing that makes our chest swell when taking air.
- Muscle training: This section refers to all breathing muscles. Exercises such as taking all the air we can, endure it five seconds and expel it gently, help our body to be prepared before a future need. Going to run or perform intense exercise sessions will also help us with this section, since this musculature will force us to work.
- Decline: To favor the emptying of respiratory secretions helping us about the action of gravity. The physiotherapist will place us in the most effective positions (well -mouth, down or side and with pillows in different parts of the body) on an inclined plane so that, while we breathe correctly, the mucus are coming out of the lungs outward.
- Percussion: Knowing where the respiratory secretions are, the physiotherapist will place us in the best of the aforementioned positions and will exercise slight blows on the rib cage. These blows will be exercised in a cranial sense and also seek to favor the expulsion of secretions.
These will be the basic techniques to re -educate breathing and obtain good blood oxygenation. However, there may be cases in which physiotherapy does not reach the patient’s status due to a more complex condition. In these cases, more invasive medical techniques must be chosen, such as the aspiration of secretions or bronchial washing. The latter are carried out after the corresponding medical derivation and under strict professional supervision.
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