Pursed lip breathing

Pursed lip breathing (PLB) is the breathing technique that consists of exhaling through tightly pressed (pursed lips) and inhaling through nose with mouth closed. Physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and respiratory therapists teach this technique to their patients to ease shortness of breath and to promote deep breathing, also referred to as abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing. The purpose of PLB is to create back-pressure inside airways to splint them open; moving air thus takes less work. Breathing through pursed lips on both exhalation and inhalation is one of the signs that health workers use to detect possible chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients. COPD Canada suggests that using PLB has positive effects in treating stress and anxiety related disorders.