Breathe deeply: how to restore lungs after coronavirus

Before you start restoring your lungs, you need to check how they work. At home, this can be done with two tests. However, remember that before performing any manipulations, you need to consult with your doctor.

Stange’s test

You will need a stopwatch or watch with a second hand. Take three calm breaths in and out. After that, inhale again, but do not exhale, but cover your nose and mouth with your hand. Track how many seconds you want to exhale. Just don’t be patient! This is not a competition, we do not set a diver’s record.

More than 50 seconds is a great result! 40-50 seconds of delay is the norm. If the result is less than 40 seconds, most likely, this indicates a violation of the respiratory system – and you may be under stress.

Genchi test

Again we take three calm breaths and exhalations, and then – only exhale. And we count the seconds until the moment when we want to take a breath. A good result is 30-40 seconds, while a shorter one indicates a violation of the respiratory system.

Later, these tests will help you track how well recovery exercises are working.

Getting to practice

The main thing to remember is that you can do exercises only if the acute period of the disease is over and the doctor has allowed you to return to normal life.

Take the pressure off the diaphragm

Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and place your palms on your stomach. Inhale and exhale with your belly – just try to do it without pushing. With each inhalation, the abdomen should rise slightly, and with each exhalation, it should fall.

Finding a balance

1. Get into a comfortable sitting position, keeping your back straight.
2. Place the index and middle fingers of the right hand at the point between the eyebrows.
3. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths in and out through your nose.
4. Close the right nostril with the thumb of the right hand, inhale slowly through the left nostril.
5. Close your left nostril with your ring finger. Now, when both nostrils are closed, there is a short pause after inhalation.
6. Open your right nostril and exhale slowly through it. After that, take a short break.
7. Now inhale through the right nostril and do the whole cycle again, inhaling and exhaling alternately through each nostril.

Repeat 5-10 cycles. Try to lengthen your inhales and exhales.

Awaken the intercostal muscles

Lie on your side and place a rolled-up blanket or towel under your chest. Begin breathing as if pushing your upper ribs apart. You will feel that the roller under the ribs on the right helps you “open” the ribs on the left. Take 3-4 breaths and exhales and move the roller a little higher. So you will work out different parts of the chest.

Working on awakening receptors

In this exercise, we must “tap” our upper and lower ribs. This can be done with soft balls (for example, Franklin balls), fists, or springy movements with your fingertips.

Sit in a comfortable position. Begin to breathe and gently tap the entire chest area – while breathing should be calm. As you exhale, continuously pronounce any vowel sound.

Tap your collarbones first, then tap your sternum. Just not for the mammary glands! After we tap the lower costal arch. You can tap your back from behind. We tap ourselves all over the body from the side. Then we tap the area behind the neck. You can bend over, tapping the lower ribs from the side.

And all this time, pronounce a long vowel sound on the exhale – this will allow you not to hold your breath and constantly turn on the diaphragm. Breathe and knock for 1 minute.

Important: during the exercise, you should not experience pain. Pay attention to how you sit, whether you are pinching the pelvic floor area. This often happens when performing an unfamiliar movement.

Restore the elasticity of the chest

Lie on your back. With an inhalation, slide your fingers under the lower ribs a little and with a gentle movement help yourself to “open” the chest. With the next breath, move your fingers a little higher and again help the ribs “open up”.

Perform the exercise by changing the position of the hands three times. Start with 6-8 breaths in each position and gradually increase the number and depth of breaths. Get to 14-15 by the end of the third week.

Important: breathing should be calm and deep, directed to the chest, and not to the stomach. Do not strain your abdominal muscles, they will interfere with your fingers!

We restore the connection of the brain with the intercostal muscles

Place your palms on your ribs. Start inhaling, but “resist” it with your palms – for this you need to simultaneously maintain some pressure and give in to the movement of the ribs. Due to the fact that she has to overcome resistance, the chest opens up. Take 5-6 breaths and exhalations. Return to normal breathing – you will feel that breathing has become easier, and the chest opens better.

At the initial stages, it is recommended to perform the exercise lying down, later you can do it sitting. The main thing is not to strain your shoulders and not to shift them forward.