Multidisciplinary Approaches to Breathing Pattern Disorders

This book is intended to help healthcare practitioners to understand the causes and effects of disordered breathing and to provide strategies and protocols to help restore normal breathing. The perspectives and techniques of three different disciplines (physiotherapy, psychotherapy and osteopathy) are offered in the spirit of cross-disciplinary co-operation, to create a more comprehensive understanding of breathing pattern disorders.

Each chapter includes a list of references, ideas for further reading and plenty of illustrative diagrams and detailed anatomical drawings. Indeed, in some instances these are so detailed they become superfluous. Areas covered include the structure and function of breathing, descriptions of breathing pattern disorders and their frequency, the importance of eliminating organic causes, the biochemistry of breathing and biomechanical influences on breathing, interactions between mind and body with respect to breathing dysfunction, osteopathic assessment and treatment of breathing dysfunction, physiotherapy rehabilitation strategies and psychological interventions. There is also a chapter in which the authors briefly discuss other issues surrounding breathing dysfunction, such as the Buteyko method, yogic alternate nasal breathing and nasal strips. The final chapter details a variety of self-help approaches, which may be reproduced free of copyright and used to teach individual patients.

The book highlights the need for recognition of hyperventilation and breathing pattern disorders – disorders that can be very frightening for patients, but which are often overlooked by healthcare providers – and gives a good theoretical background. However, some of the chapters are of a very practical nature and while these may be useful for practitioners trained in the individual disciplines, I am unsure of the value to the untrained reader.