Thursday, 1. June 2023

Positions that make it easier to breathe: How to sit or stand and what to do if you are short of breath or have a cough

Certain positions make it easier to breathe. This is especially helpful if you have acute shortness of breath – with or without an accompanying cough. For people with chronic respiratory disease it is actually extremely important to know positions that can help them breathe so that they can use them in emergencies.

You can adopt positions that make it easier to breathe not only when you are short of breath, but also if you get a coughing fit. This makes coughing less strenuous. These positions also help you cough up mucus.

First tip: Breathing out through pursed lips

Breathe in and out calmly, evenly and slowly with all of these positions that make it easier to breathe. Ideally use the pursed lip technique to breathe out.

1. Brace or prop yourself up while you stand

The brace position props you up while you stand. It is a breathe-easy position that you can also use out and about.

Schematic representation of a person leaning against the wall with his head on his arms

How it works:

  1. Ensure that you are standing steady. To do this, keep your feet about a hip width apart.
  2. Slightly bend forwards and support your arms somewhere, like a wall, a ledge, a park bench or a banister. This takes the weight off your shoulder girdle.
  3. You can also brace yourself with only one hand. To do this, turn sideways towards the banister and put your free hand on your hip.
  4. Ensure that nothing is pressing against your belly.
  5. Concentrate on your breathing. Breathe in slowly through your nose and slowly out again through pursed lips.
  6. Stay in this position until your breathing has calmed down and you are no longer out of breath.

2. Goalkeeper position

The goalkeeper position is a well-known position that makes it easier to breathe, which you are bound to have seen athletes do. After they have really exerted themselves, such as after a sprint, athletes adopt the goalkeeper position. This position takes it name from the position a goalkeeper adopts while waiting for a shot.

Schematic representation of a person leaning forward with their hands on their thighs

How it works:

  1. Stand with your legs apart and bent, leaning forwards slightly, like a goalkeeper.
  2. Support yourself with your hands on your thighs to take the weight off your arms.
  3. Ensure that nothing is pressing against your belly – for example, open the button on your trousers if they are tight.
  4. Breathe deep into your stomach and relax. Your belly will push out as you breathe in and go back in when you breathe out.
  5. Breathe out through pursed lips.
  6. Stay in this position until your breathing has calmed down and you have caught your breath.

3. Sitting on a chair backwards

Schematic representation of a person sitting upside down on a chair with head and arms resting on the backrest

Sitting on a chair backwards is a technique that helps you breathe, but it does require some mobility in the thigh muscles.

How it works:

  1. Sit backwards on a chair with a back rest.
  2. Place your arms on the backrest.
  3. Rest your forehead on your hands.
  4. Ensure that nothing is pressing against your belly.
  5. Breathe in and out slowly and calmly.

4. Coachman position

This breathe-easy position derives its name from the position in which coachmen used to sit. They slept on the bench at the front of the cart, hunched after a hard day’s work, while the horses found their own way home.

Schematic representation of a person sitting on a chair with arms resting on knees

How it works:

  1. Sit on a stool, chair, bench or the like.
  2. Rest your elbows on your knees so that your shoulder girdle is supported and the weight is on your arms.
  3. Alternatively, you can put your hands on your knees.
  4. Open the button of your trousers so that you belly is not constricted.
  5. Breathe deep into your stomach. Your belly will push out as you breathe in and go back in when you breathe out.
  6. Ideally, breathe out through pursed lips.
  7. Stay in this position until your breathing has calmed down and you have caught your breath.

5. Child’s position

Schematic representation of a human being crouching on all fours on the ground

This position requires a certain amount of flexibility and is suitable if you are both breathless and exhausted.

How it works:

  1. Get down on your hands and knees.
  2. Support yourself on your lower arms.
  3. Put your head on your hands. Keep your back and neck relaxed.
  4. Nothing may press against your belly.
  5. Breathe deep into your stomach and relax. Your belly will push out as you breathe in and go back in when you breathe out.
  6. Stay in this position until your breathing has calmed down and you have caught your breath.

Basic principle underpinning all positions that make it easier to breathe: Alleviation

All breathe-easy positions are based on the basic principle of alleviation. By supporting yourself with your arms you put the weight of your chest through your arms and have less work to do supporting yourself. This reduces the amount of oxygen you need, which makes it easier to breathe. At the same time you give your belly more space and freedom to breathe.

These topics might also be interesting for you:

Note: The information in this blog post is not a treatment recommendation. The needs of patients vary greatly from person to person. The treatment approaches presented should be viewed only as examples. PARI recommends that patients always consult with their physician or physiotherapist first.

An article written by the PARI BLOG editorial team.

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