Added nostril breathing lowered reported pain after chest injury
Adding slow breathing through one nostril to physiotherapy improved short-term pain scores, while several other outcomes showed no statistically significant differences.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Patients receiving the added breathing technique reported less pain at the final assessment than those receiving physiotherapy alone. Both groups improved. No group differences were detected in lung complications, function, exercise capacity or adverse events. However, the group using the added breathing technique had a slightly longer hospital stay.
In this abstract-based summary, treatment was allocated by ward at a single centre, and most participants were men with penetrating injuries. Assessments were short term, limiting conclusions about lasting relief or other patient groups.
What researchers found
Patient-reported pain
On admission day 5, pain was lower with added breathing than standard physiotherapy alone. The authors described the standardized effect as moderate; d does not represent pain-scale points.
A specific hospital setting
The technique involved slow inhalation through a single nostril alongside usual physiotherapy. Researchers tested it during hospital care after chest trauma, so the findings concern a specific treatment setting and patient group.
Hospital stay also matters
Average hospital stay was 5.0 days with added breathing versus 4.5 days with standard physiotherapy (p = 0.008). This complicates an otherwise favorable interpretation based on pain alone.
The original publication
A New Breathing Technique for Pain Management in Patients With Thoracic Trauma: A Randomised Trial.
Tootla S, Olsén MF, Danielsbacka J et al.
Physiother Res Int · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41420336
- Record checked
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