EFFECT OF CONTROLLED BREATHING ON PAIN TOLERANCE

Abstract

The aim of this study was to see if specific techniques of breathing exercises could be employed to divert patient’s attention 
from the severity of pain during painful physiotherapy procedures. The painful procedure used in the study was faradic 
stimulation of the tibialis anterior muscle. Pain threshold and tolerance were assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale 
[VAS]. The breathing controlled techniques employed were normal, fast-shallow and slow deep breathing techniques. The 
results showed that the specific breathing techniques caused no significant difference in the pain threshold and tolerance of 
the subjects to faradic electrical stimulation of the tibialis anterior muscle. The controlled breathing techniques might 
therefore not be of significant clinical value in diverting attention from pain during painful and uncomfortable physiotherapy 
procedures.