Can slow deep breathing reduce pain? An experimental study exploring mechanisms

Slow deep breathing (SDB) is a common complementary treatment strategy to manage pain.2 Despite its wide use and some promising findings, evidence for its efficacy remains equivocal. Also the exact working mechanisms remain unestablished.28 Distraction, emotion modulation, and expectations induced by voluntary SDB have been proposed among the most viable potential top-down mechanisms.28 Another class of potential mechanisms relate to the profound impact of SDB on the cardiovascular system, including an augmentation of cardiac vagal activity and the baroreflex.

Source: The Journal of Pain - January 20, 2020 Category: Materials Science Authors: Hassan Jafari, Ali Gholamrezaei, Mathijs Franssen, Lukas Van Oudenhove, Qasim Aziz, Omer Van den Bergh, Johan W.S. Vlaeyen, Ilse Van Diest Tags: Original Reports Source Type: research