The patient
Maneesha is an otherwise healthy, fit and active 27 year old. Her journey to finally finding help with her breathing has been a prolonged one, with her symptoms beginning some time ago. About 5 years ago Maneesha had a severe chest infection and found that since then, she never felt quite herself again in terms of her breathing.
Even after she’d largely recovered from the chest infection, her breathing didn’t return to normal, but Maneesha didn’t think too much of it and dismissed it as “one of those things”. Over time, and more recently, these breathing issues became increasingly more pronounced, to the point where even climbing a set of stairs or simply moving around while talking on the phone would leave Maneesha feeling breathless – something she knew shouldn’t be the case for someone her age.
It was when Maneesha coincidentally had a health screening at work and asked to be checked out for asthma, that her path to recovery via Air Physiotherapy began.
The process
Before Maneesha’s first appointment with us she’d already seen a respiratory consultant and had a range of tests looking at her heart and lungs – all of which came back clear. It was this consultant who mentioned he felt she may be suffering from a breathing pattern disorder and that a respiratory physiotherapist would be able to help to her.
When we first met Maneesha, her symptoms were:
- Being unable to get a deep breath,
- Her breathing didn’t feel satisfying,
- Her breathing felt shallow when running,
- Feeling short of breath on the stairs (strange, as she considered herself quite fit),
- Breathless when walking and talking.
These symptoms are very classical of a breathing pattern disorder, and Maneesha displayed regular signs of air hunger (gasping for air), so our team was instantly able to reassure Maneesha that she was in the right place. We thoroughly assessed her breathing pattern; what muscles were involved; what the speed, ratio, depth and pattern of her breathing was like; how her breathing was coordinating with her movement and speech; and exploring any external factors that were contributing or driving her symptoms.
After her first session, Maneesha was given a clear plan to get her breathing back on track, and was given a programme of exercises to follow before coming back for a review. Regular reviews help keep our patients accountable and on track, as well as giving us an opportunity to to troubleshoot any problems or hurdles that arise.
The results
After 6 months of hard work, Maneesha feels like Maneesha again!
She feels like she’s had a real breakthrough with her breathing – she is more relaxed, can recognise how her body is behaving, and can now breathe more easily. Sometimes her breathlessness can crop up again, but in a much milder form, and Maneesha feels that thanks to the breathing pattern re-education she’s now more aware of it, and is armed with the tools to be able to recognise that it’s happening so she can address it before it becomes overwhelming. She’s found that her recovery isn’t linear and that she’s really benefitted from our holistic approach with regular check ins. She told us she was grateful that we took time to look at and understand her life as a whole, and she thinks this was fundamental in us being able to treat her effectively.
Realising that you don’t need to cope with a reduced baseline of breathing, that your breathing – and therefore your life as a whole – can be improved, has been life-changing for Maneesha. With just a few sessions to go, Maneesha is already enjoying a huge transformation in her daily life.
Testimonial from Maneesha
Maneesha told us ”Having had my eyes opened to how I can breathe properly has hugely relaxed me physically and then mentally as a result. If you’re in the same position as me, I 100% say you should explore coming to Air Physiotherapy. It’s been an amazing experience and I look forward to a better quality of life on the other side of it!”
You can see Maneesha talk about her experience on our YouTube channel – and if you’d like to know more, or to book in just click here: https://www.thebreathingmot.
