Breathing, Posture and Spine

Trunk stability

The stability of our torso - our posture - depends not only on the structure of the spine or the strength of our back and lower abdominal muscles, but also on the internal pressure in the abdomen.

Breathing and the resulting movement of the diaphragm downwards towards the pelvic floor play a decisive role.

This child's breathing - and that applies to many of my little clients - is restricted by insufficient movement of the diaphragm and ribs.

These concepts are also applicable to adults with restricted breathing, or any client that uses a lot of muscular effort to achieve an upright position.

Forced inhalation

In this video we see a very strong inhalation (as we might observe in a healthy person after a 100-meter run).

It is easy to see here how many of our classic FI applications influence breathing: Lifting the head shortens the scalene muscles connected to the sternum. The pectoralis major is directly connected to the sternum, we shorten it when lifting the shoulder blade. Slightly pulling the arm upwards will spread the ribs, moving the ribs downward will give the diaphragm more space.

The movement of the ribs in the vertebral costal joints is an up and down rotation.

Paradoxical breathing

With insufficient movement of the diaphragm, paradoxical breathing can arise:

With the use of the auxilliary breathing muscles the ribs are raised in inspiration. The diaphragm can no longer contract, it is instead pulled up with the lower ribs. It thus moves paradoxically, lifting on the inhaltaion. Pronounced paradoxical breathing would be an emergency that certainly does not exist here. However, the tendency to pull the ribs upwards to aid breathingrestricts the diaphragm and, due to the tension in the costal arch, also prevents movement of the thoracic vertebrae connected to the ribs.

It is almost impossible for children to get out of this cycle by "recuding the effort".

Joints between the ribs and the vertebrae

The second through ninth vertebrae are connected to two vertebrae by small joints. The first rib and the free ribs ten, eleven and twelve form a joint with one vertebra each. Restricting their mobility will limit the range of motion of the entire thoracic spine.

Scalene Muscles

The Scalene muscles can be used as auxiliary breathing muscles.

Increased muscle tone will "shorten" the neck and pull it forward in an upright position. Swallowing disorders or the development of a so-called "dowagers hump" / hunched back can be the result. In a lateral position, tense scalene muscles do not allow the neck to organize itself along its entire length and to rest well on the floor. We can take over their work by lifting the head from a supine position or pull the whole chest up towards the head (possibly in connection with the shoulder blade).

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