RSM-ORT-S003
Written by Hironori Ikeda, MSc Sports Medicine
RSM International Academy · Chiang Mai, Thailand
Course clinical guide → How Should Therapists Assess Breathing? A Practical Screen
A therapist leaning across a client can accidentally change the contact while watching the ribs. The useful correction is to make the observation and hand access repeatable, not to ask for a bigger breath to compensate.
In This Article
- In This Article
- 1. Observe Quiet Breathing in the Agreed Position
- 2. Approach the Side You Are Observing
- Keep the Instruction Consistent
- 3. Return to the Original Observation
- Related RSM Clinical Blogs
- Study Orthopedic Massage at RSM
1. Observe Quiet Breathing in the Agreed Position
Begin with the client comfortably supported and breathing without a special cue. Rib-cage and abdominal motion can change with body position. Record whether the client is sitting, supine or side-lying before interpreting the pattern.
Observe lateral rib motion and the familiar complaint without naming a diaphragm deficit from appearance alone. Visible motion is not a measure of ventilation, pressure or diaphragm strength.
2. Approach the Side You Are Observing
With consent, use light contact only if it clarifies the observational question. Move to the accessible side rather than reaching across the chest and maintaining an unsupported lean. A different hand placement creates a different contact condition.
Keep the Instruction Consistent
If you ask the client to breathe toward the hand, record that as a coached trial. Do not compare it directly with the earlier uncoached breathing and attribute the difference to manual release.
3. Return to the Original Observation
Review the same quiet-breathing position and, when relevant, the same comfortable trunk turn. If the client only breathes differently under instruction, describe that response without claiming restored rib mechanics.
Unexplained breathlessness, chest pain or a new respiratory complaint changes the priority toward medical assessment. Severe difficulty breathing or chest heaviness requires emergency help, not another positional trial. Ergonomic access helps the therapist maintain the observation; it does not establish respiratory safety.
Related RSM Clinical Blogs
▷ How Should Therapists Assess Breathing? A Practical Screen — Orthopedic Massage · Explore the full symptom assessment and treatment decisions.
▷ Can Your Client Expand the Side Ribs? Bucket-Handle Mechanics — Orthopedic Massage · Compare a related clinical question from another assessment angle.
▷ Posture Changes With Breathing: Rib Expansion & Pelvic Position — Dynamic Posture Assessment · Connect the contact finding with movement and load.
Study Orthopedic Massage at RSM
Develop the anatomical comparison, contact control and re-assessment skills behind this note. View Orthopedic Massage course details. Explore the clinical guide. Check the official course schedule.
For the landmark and clinical palpation foundation, explore the Trigger Point Therapy course.
About the Author
Hironori Ikeda, MSc Sports Medicine is the lead instructor at RSM International Academy. His teaching connects functional anatomy, clinical palpation, treatment decisions and re-assessment.