How Nasal & Diaphragmatic Breathing Support Head, Neck and Jaw Pain
Most of us breathe thousands of times a day without thinking about how we’re doing it. Yet the way we breathe can meaningfully influence pain, tension and overall health.
At Synchrony, we often explore nasal and diaphragmatic (belly) breathing with patients who experience jaw pain, headaches or neck tension. Below is an overview of why these breathing patterns matter, and how they can support your recovery.
Why Breathe Through Your Nose?
1. Better Oxygen Delivery
When you breathe through your nose, the air passes through the paranasal sinuses, where a gas called nitric oxide is produced. Nitric oxide helps widen blood vessels and supports more efficient oxygen transport to the brain, muscles and organs, improving overall physiological function (Lundberg et al., 1995).
2. Naturally Slower, More Controlled Breathing
The nose creates more resistance to airflow than the mouth—around twice as much in some studies (Swift et al., 1988). This gentle resistance slows your inhale and exhale, giving more time for gas exchange in the lungs.
Slower, smoother exhalation can:
Improve oxygen uptake in the blood
Help regulate the nervous system
Contribute to a reduction in stress hormones such as cortisol
Over time, this supports a calmer baseline state for both body and brain.
3. Systemic Health Benefits
Because nasal breathing is linked with better nitric oxide production and oxygenation, it also has benefits for the cardiovascular system. Research suggests that nasal-dominant breathing patterns can assist with blood pressure regulation and may reduce overall cardiovascular risk (Stanek et al., 2021).
For people living with pain, anything that supports heart and vascular health also supports long-term resilience.
4. Jaw Support & Facial Muscle Relaxation
When you breathe through your nose, your mouth can stay gently closed and your tongue can rest on the roof of your mouth. This tongue position:
Helps stabilise the lower jaw
Reduces unnecessary load on the TMJ joints
Allows the muscles of the face and jaw to soften rather than brace
Over time, this can ease symptoms related to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and reduce strain on surrounding muscles (Kawazoe et al., 2012).
The Role of Diaphragmatic (Belly) Breathing
1. Calming the Nervous System
Diaphragmatic breathing emphasises the movement of the diaphragm, a large breathing muscle under the ribs. When this muscle is doing most of the work, it sends a strong signal to the parasympathetic nervous system, the branch associated with “rest and digest.”
This pattern has been shown to:
Lower stress and anxiety levels
Promote feelings of calm and safety
Reduce the overall intensity of pain signals in the head, neck and jaw (Jerath et al., 2006)
2. Reducing Neck and Jaw Overactivity
Many people with jaw or neck pain rely on upper chest breathing, where the shoulders and neck muscles lift with each breath. Over time this can:
Overwork the small muscles around the neck and jaw
Increase tension and fatigue
Reduce breathing efficiency
Shifting towards diaphragmatic breathing allows those upper muscles to step back from their “emergency” role and return to a more normal level of activity, which can reduce pain and improve function (Courtney et al., 2011).
3. Supporting Cardiovascular and Overall Health
Breathing patterns that are slower, more nasal and more diaphragmatic are associated with:
Healthier blood pressure profiles
Better heart rate variability (a marker of nervous-system flexibility)
Reduced risk of stress-related cardiovascular disease (Epel et al., 2009)
For people with persistent head, neck or jaw pain, this combination of local benefits (less tension) and systemic benefits (better recovery and resilience) can be powerful.
Putting It Into Practice
Small, consistent changes often work better than big overhauls. You might start by:
Noticing how you breathe at rest; nose or mouth? chest or belly?
Gently encouraging nasal breathing during the day when it feels comfortable
Practising a few minutes of relaxed diaphragmatic breathing once or twice a day, especially before bed or during periods of increased pain or stress
If you have chronic nasal blockage, allergies, sleep apnoea or are unsure whether nasal breathing is safe for you, it’s important to discuss this with your GP, ENT or relevant specialist before making major changes.
How Synchrony Can Help
At Synchrony, we integrate breathing assessment into our work with TMD, headaches, neck pain and orofacial pain. During your assessment we may:
Explore your natural breathing pattern (nose vs mouth, chest vs diaphragm)
Look at how breathing interacts with jaw posture, tongue position and neck tension
Teach simple, evidence-informed breathing strategies tailored to your nervous system and pain presentation
These approaches are combined with orofacial physiotherapy, psychotherapy and contemporary pain science to support long-term change.
If you’re experiencing persistent head, neck or jaw pain and are curious about how breathing might be part of the picture, you’re welcome to book an appointment at Synchrony so we can explore this together in a way that feels calm, safe and achievable for you.
