Tag Archives: diaphragmatic breathing

Singing Therapy for Supragastric Belching

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H Shang H et al. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2026; Singing Therapy versus Diaphragmatic Breathing for Supragastric Belching: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: “Supragastric belching (SGB) significantly impairs quality of life. Although diaphragmatic breathing is recommended as a first-line intervention in clinical guidelines, some patients perceive it as monotonous.”

Methods: “This randomized controlled trial, 72 adult patients with supragastric belching diagnosed according to Rome IV criteria were randomly assigned (1:1) to structured singing therapy (ST) or diaphragmatic breathing at 2 tertiary gastroenterology centers in China.  The primary outcome was the treatment response, defined as ≥50% reduction in belching visual analog scale scores.”

Singing Therapy:

“Patients with excessive belching episodes underwent structured ST sessions administered by gastroenterologists using 1 of 4 standardized Chinese folk songs (“The Sea,” “For Whom,” “Story of Spring,” or “The Most Dazzling National Style”), with each session lasting approximately 5 minutes.

Participants were required to:

  1. Perform vocalization with musical accompaniment.
  2. Sustain open-mouth phonation to promote diaphragmatic activation, with real-time feedback provided via ‌visual cues‌ (observation of abdominal expansion in a mirror during inhalation) and tactile cues (light hand placement on the abdomen to monitor respiratory motion and suppress thoracic dominance).
  3. Achieve a target vocal intensity of 80 dB, verified using calibrated smartphone decibel meter applications (Decibel Meter App).
  4. Patients were instructed to perform 5-minute vocal therapy sessions 3 times daily, with additional 5-minute sessions when symptomatic. This regimen was maintained continuously for 7 days.”

Key Findings:

  • “After 1 week, ST demonstrated a significantly higher response rate than diaphragmatic breathing both immediately postintervention (72.2% vs 38.9%; P = .004) and at 1-month follow-up (50.0% vs 30.6%; P = .032). “
  • “ST demonstrated greater and more sustained benefits in quality-of-life measures.”

Discussion:

  • “ST may ameliorate belching through mechanisms potentially shared with DB. First, both interventions likely reduce belching by attentional diversion, as distraction-based attentional modulation has been shown to alleviate belching.21“
  • “Existing literature indicates that both ST16,28 and DB29 possess anxiolytic effects.”

My take: It will be interesting to see if this therapy will be effective in different populations and in pediatric cohorts. Also, could this treatment lead to more American Idol auditions?

Related blog posts:

Two pictures of the exterior and interior of the Harpa Opera house in Reykjavkik. The irregular, crystalline shapes mimic the geometric basalt columns found in volcanic rock across Iceland.

Breathing (Diaphragmatic) Helps Belching and Reflux Symptoms

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A recent prospective study (A M-L Ong et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2018; 16: 407-16) of 36 patients (median age 45) showed that diaphragmatic breathing was helpful for PPI-refractory GERD symptoms/belching.  Patients enrolled all had “troublesome belching” for 6 months and GERD. Patients underwent high resolution manometry and pH-impedance study.

Key findings:

  • 9 of 15 (60%) in the diaphragmatic treatment group reduced their belching visual analog score by ≥50%, whereas none of the control group achieved the primary outcome
  • Treatment also resulted in lower GERD symptoms based on reflux disease questionnaire score -decrease of 12.2 vs 3.1 in the control group (P=.01)
  • Treatment improved QOL scores, based on Reflux-Qual Short form (15.7 increase for treatment group compared to 2.4 decrease in control group)
  • Treatment effects were sustained at 4 months after treatment

My take: Diaphragmatic breathing can be a useful adjunct in GERD, particularly in patients with belching.

Related blog post: Treatment for rumination and belching

 

Foggy Morning in Sandy Springs

Treatment for rumination and belching

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Treatment options for rumination and for belching are limited.  Baclofen improves symptoms and decreases events in both of these disorders (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2012; 10: 379-84).

Rumination is characterized by effortless regurgitation of recently ingested food into the mouth (or beyond). It is easily mistaken for vomiting disorders and motility disturbances.  With rumination, patients have retrograde flow of gastric contents into the esophagus through voluntary, though unintentional, abdominal muscle contractions with increased intragastric pressure increases.

Supragastric belching occurs when air is sucked into the esophagus by decreasing the intrathoracic pressure or by contracting pharyngeal muscles.

Baclofen is an agonist of the γ-aminobutyric acid B (GABA) receptor which results in increased lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressures and reduced swallowing rates. Baclofen has been shown to improve reflux, mainly by reducing transient LES relaxations (TLESRs) but also by increasing basal LES pressures.

In the majority of patients, the mainstay of treatment has been behavioral which use diaphragmatic breathing to compete/extinguish these behaviors.  There are a shortage of therapists familiar with this approach.  As such, alternative treatments are needed.  In this study, high-resolution manometry-impendance recordings were taken from 16 patients (10 women; mean age 43 years; range 18-89 years); eight of the patients had rumination.  Only 12 patients were included in the final analysis; four patients refused repeat manometry.  Manometry was performed before and after treatment along with recording symptoms.  Both symptoms and manometry recordings improved with Baclofen therapy.  This was a one-week open-label study.  Baclofen was dosed at 10 mg TID.  At baseline the total number of “flow events” was 473; after treatment, this was reduced to 282 events.  In total, rumination events decreased by 68% during treatment.   This improvement correlated with increased LES pressures.

Four of the 12 patients reported mild side effects mainly sleepiness and difficulty concentrating.

Additional references:

  • -Clin Gastroenterol & Hep 2007; 5:772. Review. Supragastric belching usually due to aerophagia and is very frequen (up to 20/hr)t. GERD related belching is less infrequent, has sour taste, usually less loud & after meals. Gum chewing, excessive beverage drinks, rapid eating or drinking,  smoking or using straw for drinking may increase air in the stomach and lead to burping which can be behavioural problem as well.
  • -“Behavioral Treatment of Chronic Belching Due to Aerophagia in a  Normal Adult” Behav Modif 2006; 30; 341
  • -JPGN 2011; 52: 414. Mgt of severe rumination @ Columbus Ohio. n=5. Definitive dx established with AD manometry with typical r-wave pattern (when regurgitates after a meal)
  • -JPGN 2010; 50: 103. Rumination occurring in NL intelligent adolescents. May start with regurgitation and progress to inability to swallow saliva.
  • -Clin Gastro & Hep 2006; 4: 1314. Review of management of rumination/case presentation
  • -Chitkara et al: Teaching diaphragmatic breathing for rumination syndrome. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006 Nov;101(11):2449-52. Review. Can use behavioral interventions such as deep breathing exercises/ diaphragmatic breathing to break the spasms..
  • -Gastroenterology 2006; 130: 1527-28. Review and criteria of rumination.
  • -Pediatrics 2003; 111: 158-62. Review of rumination dx, Rx, & prognosis.
  • -Clin Persp in Gastro 2000; 3 (5): 277.

Additional Baclofen references:

  • -J Pediatr 2006; 149: 436, 468. Baclofen reduces GER. 0.5mg/kg/day
  • -JPGN 2004; 38: 317. Effectiveness of baclofen in neurologically-impaired children w GER. (0.7/kg/day), n=8.
  • -Gastroenterology 2000; 118: 7-13. Use of baclofen to reduce TLESR.
  • -Aliment Pharm Ther 2003; 17: 243-51. Baclofen reduced GER (acid & nonacid). side effects -N, V, dizzy. dose: in adults, start at 5mg tid, increase c 5mg increments every 4th day to 10-20mg tid.