Breathing is an essential part of life and in many situations it is compromised by things, such as lifting weights, poor posture and even feeling stressed. Sometimes we don’t even realise we are holding our breath or only using our upper ribs and accessory muscles instead of the biggest respiratory muscle of them all ‘the diaphragm’.
What and where is the diaphragm
A quick bit of anatomy to understand the importance of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle separating the thoracic and abdominal cavities. It attaches to the inside wall of the lower six ribs, tip of the sternal bone and upper two or three lumbar vertebrae. When we breathe in the diaphragm contracts and descends into the abdominal cavity creating a pressure gradient and allowing oxygen to enter the lungs. When exercising or in stressful situations we need more gas exchange, this means that other muscles in the neck, chest and between the ribs have to over work potentially leading to breathing dysfunction and pain and tightness in these areas.
When at rest, breathing out is a passive process due to the elastic recoil of the lungs and rib cage as the diaphragm relaxes. Sometimes other muscles in the lumbar spine, abdomen and between the ribs are involved if forced expiration is needed. This recruitment may lead to dysfunctional patterns and symptoms felt in the body, such as, reflux (since the oesophagus passes through the diaphragm) and back pain. Your muscles attach from the ribs down to the pelvis; therefore, when the ribs are twisted due to the diaphragm becoming tight or spasming it can results in back pain or even pelvic malalignment.
Role of the diaphragm
Controlling our breath and ensuring that we breathe correctly is vital as it is involved in so many processes. In yoga it is thought we are alive because of ‘prana’, a life sustaining energy force which enters our body as we breathe. In other words – the better we breathe the more energy we will have to keep our body healthy (the body does have an innate ability to heal itself, but sometimes it needs some encouragement). Having an awareness of your own breath is incredibly important. In challenging times or frustration our sympathetic nervous system is stimulated leading to shallow breaths that may put many body systems in overdrive. Better breathing can improve your overall health; the diaphragm helps with circulation, lymphatic drainage and stimulates the relaxation response which we need for ideal digestion and rest.
How osteopathy can help
• Your osteopathic practitioner can give you advice and tips on proper posture whether this be a better sitting posture whilst at work or reading your book at home. Being hunched over a computer all day limits our rib expansion and breathing.
• Osteopathic practitioners can work on all the tight muscles in your neck, chest and thorax, as well as, improve movement through your whole spine, which may be affecting your breathing or have become tight due to your breathing patterns. Osteopathy can help get your ribs moving properly and many techniques can help stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) through breathing leaving you feeling relaxed and destressed.
• Release any tightness in the diaphragm (directly or indirectly).
• Give you tips on how best to breathe when doing weights or feeling stressed.
• Assess your whole body to see if there are any compensations in other areas.
An exercise you can try at home (daily)
• Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Breathe in so that the hand on your belly rises higher than the hand on your chest, insuring you are taking deep breaths.
• Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and breathe out for 8 seconds.
• Repeat the cycle for a total of 4 breaths.
So breathing correctly is important in all aspects of life and allows for a deeper mind-body connection, relating to one of the founding osteopathic principles that the body is a unit, and that the person represents a combination of mind, body and spirit.
If you have any questions, or need any more information, we are happy to answer your questions. Feel free to contact us through our website or call us for a free 15 minute consultation.