Lower back pain affects 80% of adults at some point, and emerging research reveals that diaphragmatic dysfunction is a significant and overlooked contributor. Your diaphragm does double duty: it is both your primary breathing muscle and a critical core stabilizer. When the diaphragm fails to engage properly — as happens with chronic shallow breathing — your lumbar spine loses its primary source of deep stabilization, leading to compensatory strain and pain.
MRI studies published in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy show that people with chronic lower back pain consistently demonstrate altered diaphragmatic movement patterns. Restoring proper diaphragmatic function through breathing retraining provides the foundation upon which all other core strengthening builds. Without it, exercises like planks and crunches may actually reinforce the compensatory patterns that contribute to back pain.
The practical application is straightforward but requires consistency. Practicing abdominal expansion breathing while lying on your back with knees bent allows your deep core muscles to activate in a gravity-reduced position. As your diaphragm descends on each inhale, it pressurizes your abdominal cavity, creating an internal splint for your lumbar spine. This intra-abdominal pressure mechanism is the same one used by powerlifters, but at a gentler intensity that is sustainable throughout the day.