When you have been unwell with an infection such as COVID 19, your breathing pattern can change in response to the infection. You may feel breathless or have pain which affects your breathing. You may breathe more deeply or faster than normal. While your breathing should return to normal as you recover from illness or infection, for some people, these changes become habitual, leaving you with an abnormal breathing pattern. This can cause fatigue, chest pain, palpitations, headaches and tense or twitchy muscles.
Resetting your breathing pattern can take time and requires you to be aware of your breathing. The links below provide helpful advice to check your own breathing pattern, along with exercises to practise a ‘good-breathing’ technique.