Exercise for Chest Pain at Home: Effective, safe and uncomplicated solutions
Pain in the chest area is a very obvious sign, which usually accompanies fatal diseases like heart attack. However, many cases of chest pain can be seen as a result of other non-life threatening conditions like muscle strain, digestive problems or stress. In patients with mild chest pain that is not heart related, the following exercises will help them get rid of any chest pain and promote chest health.
In this article, I will take a look at some useful exercises that aim to reduce chest pain and its effects.
What Causes Chest Pain?
Let me remind you that before you start exercising, you need to know that not all chest pains are the same. Some causes can be treated by a doctor while others can only be reduced through exercise and diet. Common causes of chest pain include:
- Muscle strain - Strain on the muscles of chest can be caused by tight clothes, especially bras, over exertion or improper sitting position.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) - This is common with heartburn where the feel is of burning at the center of the chest.
- Anxiety or panic attacks - These can trigger severe chest pains that resemble more serious illnesses.
- Costochondritis - Pressure on the cartilage that joins each rib to your breastbone may be painful’.
- Sedentary lifestyle - The problem associated with the lack of movement includes formation of wrong posture, muscle rigidity, and chest constriction.
When to See a Doctor
However, it is important to understand that if the chest pain is severe, or you have a sensation that spreads to your arms, neck or jaws, or shortness of breath, dizziness or nausea you should seek help from a doctor. These may be symptoms of a heart attack or other severe condition. These exercises described in this article are for mild, non-cardiac chest pain and cannot be read or interpreted in place of professional help.
Benefits of exercise for chest pain
Exercise can help alleviate chest pain by:
- Strengthening the chest muscles - Muscle toning can actually lead to decrease incidences of injury or strain of muscles.
- Improving posture - Sitting or standing in a wrong position exerts extra pressure on the chest and can be quite uncomfortable.
- Reducing stress and anxiety - Exercises aid to free endorphins in the body that have effects of reducing chest tightness associated with stress and anxiety.
- Improving cardiovascular health - Cordial exercise maintains the health of the heart muscles and thus can prevent future chest pain arising from other cardiovascular issues.
Well, let’s move on and consider some of the useful and low-risk exercises for chest pain treatment you can practice at home.
1. Deep Breathing Exercises
At other times the pain could be due to poor ventilation of the chest or stress. Abdominal breathing exercises enable improvement of oxygenation, chest wall release for clients with pain related to anxiety.
How to do it:
- Find a comfortable position for yourself either sitting or lying on a bed or couch today.
- Stand up and put one hand on the left side of your chest, and the other on your lower stomach area.
- Breathe in as much air as possible through your nostrils: your belly should expand, but your chest should not.
- Take a deep breath out through the mouth exhaling all the air out of the lungs.
- The same continues for 5 to10 minutes, at this time breath is slow and controlled.
Benefits:
- Raises your body’s ability to obtain oxygen.
- Can help to reduce tension in chest muscles
- Erases stress levels and encourage relaxation
2. Wall Stretch
A simple wall stretch can fix tightness in your chest muscles in the event that poor posture, strain or another cause is behind your chest pain.
How to do it:
- It should be done standing parallel to a wall at a distance of approximately one foot from the wall.
- Spread your arms horizontally in front with both palms placed on the hearing touching the wall at shoulder level.
- Gradually head towards the wall, trying not to bend the spinal column and have the lungs wide open.
- This position should be held for about 20-30 seconds while you can feel the stretch across the chest.
- Get back to the initial position and do it 3 — 5 times.
Benefits:
- The third exercise alsomuscleshens the pectoral muscles
- Enhances the level of flexibility and mobile.
- Helps to reduce tension in the chest relaxation
3. Child’s Pose
Scoot back on your heels, and fold forward for child’s pose – another mild yoga poses that opens up the back, shoulders and chest area. Still, it has always being a good way of letting off some steam in the upper part of the body and enhance on breathing.
How to do it:
- Begin by getting on your knees on the floor with feet aligned, toes touching and the knees wide apart.
- Cross your legs, plant your knees on the ground, rest on your buttocks and make lower hear with your forehead to touch the ground with out-stretched hands.
- For example, say to yourself: Take deep breaths and allow your chest to come down towards the floor.
- Take deep breath and keep yourself steady for 1- 2 minutes.
Benefits:
- Loosens the chest, shoulder, back muscles
- Encourages relaxation or rather deep breathing as considered by different scholars.
- It helps free stiff muscles in the shoulders and even the neck region.
4. Shoulder Blade Squeeze
When poor posture precipitates chest pains, your physician may recommend exercises that will enhance your upper back muscles and hence minimize pressure on the chest wall.
How to do it:
- Stand or sit up tall with your hands preferably at your sides or locked.
- Pull your shoulder blades down towards each other as if you are attempted to hold a pencil between your shoulder blades.
- This position should be held for five seconds, then release.
- Repeat 10-15 times.
Benefits:
- Helps to tone the muscles of a shoulder girdle and upper back area.
- It shall enhance the posture and reduce exertion pressure on the chest and also the upper body contortion.
- Reduces tension in other upper part of the body
5. Cat-Cow Stretch
The Cat-Cow stretch is a yoga movement that slightly opens up the chest along with the shoulders and the spine. Especially, it is useful for reducing the muscle contraction and enhancing correct body position.
How to do it:
- Place the palm of each hand on the ground and align your elbows shoulder width apart and your knees hip width apart.
- Breathe in while pushing your head and your chest as well as your back towards the ceiling (Cow pose).
- Breathe out as you arch your back and pull your head down towards your chest (like a cat).
- Proceed to move in this way for 1-2 minutes consistently switching between these two positions along with your breath.
Benefits:
- Opens up the chest and back region muscles
- Helps reduce joint stiffness and promote better muscle pliability
- Yet, tension and relaxabody can be relieved by listening to music on Hands That Touch Withholds.
6. Chest Opener Stretch
This exercise can be very beneficial for chest flexibility and to reduce any negative effects of sitting or slouching for lengthy periods of time.
How to do it:
- While standing, open your legs a little wider than shoulder width and lock your fingers at the back.
- Open your chest, straighten your arms from your sides and pull your hands up.
- Do this for 20-30seconds while lifting the chest and breathing in and out.
- Release and repeat 3-5 times.
Benefits:
- Opens the chest and shoulders
- Influences the improper body positions and poses of the human body.
- Gently brings tension in the chest muscles down
7. Here, I also perform Pectoral Stretch with a Doorway.
Applying the stretch across a doorway may give more intensive stretch for chest muscles and remove the stiffness.
How to do it:
- Take a place by a door frame, with your arms flexed at the elbows, and your palms – on the door frame.
- Take one step forward and then reach through the doorway and lean forward slightly so that you get a nice chest stretch.
- Thirty seconds Mueller holds the longest to indicate that you should work on switching one leg for the other and do it again.
Benefits:
- Draws the pectoral muscles
- Enhances the flexibility of the body and its movement,
- It helps in cutting down muscle tension and eases body posture.
8. Arm Circles
Swinging or circling of arms is a good warm up and physical exercise that strengthen the chest and upper arms.
How to do it:
- Assume the wide stance placing your feet shoulder width apart from each other, stretch both your arms to the sides and bring up to shoulder levels.
- Put your hands up and create small circles with your arms, now try making larger circles with your arms.
- Keep going for 30 seconds; then the pattern of circles should be reversed for another 30 seconds.
Benefits:
- Increases blood flow to the chest and the shoulder muscles
- Enhances one’s flexibility and movements of the musculoskeletal system.
- Helps loosen tight muscles
9. Seated Chest Press
Seated chest press is especially effective if done gently, thus avoiding any future discomfort for the chest muscles.
How to do it:
- Sitting on a chair raised to a height in which your feet touch the floor.
- Take a lightweight resistance band or a towel, or even a resistance band tied loosely at both ends with the handles in both hands and your arms fully extended in front of your body.
- Clasp your palms together, use the chest muscles to clasp then let go.
- Repeat for 10-15 repetitions.
Benefits:
- Strengthens the chest muscles
- This workout type helps also to make muscles toned and increases their capacity to work.
- It also helps to reduce future muscle strain.
Conclusion: Listen to Your Body
However, these exercises can be helpful sometimes in easing a small chest pain or discomfort – but always remember your body’s signals. If you have any of the pains or discomforts when performing any of the exercise above, stop exercising and seek medical advice.
Less quality breath and out ward protruded chest causes chest pain, and by correcting this, one can prevent chest pain for a certain period of time and include exercise, good posture and deep breathing.
Though, safety comes first, and in case your signs and symptoms do not disappear or get worse, consult a doctor.
These easy exercises make it possible to minimize visitation of chest pain in your daily life, thus enhancing the health of your chest.