𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲 𝗜
Today we present the third lecture on medicine, written by Professor Gaeta. Enjoy your reading!
"Ancient Eastern practices of both martial and Taoist origin rightly considered the diaphragm to be a muscle of extraordinary importance for both physical health and mental and emotional well-being.
I cannot expand on this here so I will just briefly provide the basic, anatomical and functional information about this muscle reserving the right to possibly resume the discussion in future posts.
It is thus the most important muscle among the respiratory muscles-those muscles, that is, that by expanding the thoracic cavity suck in, by a very precise physical law, air from the outside to the inside of the airway exactly as happens when we suck in air or liquids by moving the plunger of a syringe.
𝕊𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕚 𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕚 𝕠 𝕚𝕟𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕚?
They are definitely voluntary muscles like those of the limbs and back but with one major difference: the arms move only when we send the motor order by will.
Respiratory muscles, on the other hand, respond like those in the arms to our voluntary orders but normally without our noticing are activated rhythmically and automatically by orders from specific, involuntary centers in the brain.
This very special relationship of breathing to our brain and will is known to be one of the cornerstones of yoga practice and philosophy.
But we promised ourselves not to digress so let's return to the anatomy of the diaphragm.
The diaphragm is a thick, upwardly convex dome-shaped muscle-tendinous lamina that separates the chest from the abdomen.
With its upper face it is in contact with the lung bases and the heart; with its lower face it is in contact with the liver, stomach, spleen and left kidney.
It inserts with its peripheral tendinous bundles on the last 6 ribs, sternum and lumbar vertebrae while in the center toward the top of the dome the muscle fibers converge into a large trefoil-shaped tendinous area that is crossed by the inferior vena cava that enters the chest from the abdominal cavity.
The right and left tendinous pillars of the posterior peripheral insertions on the lumbar vertebrae demarcate with the vertebrae themselves the so-called aortic hiatus, that is, the orifice abutting the spine that gives passage to the descending aorta in transit between the chest and abdomen.
These pillars with the vertebrae form a kind of rather rigid and undeformable osteotendinous ring to protect the aorta from the continuous movements and contractions of the diaphragm.
It is important to always consider the diaphragm when talking about cervical or lumbar problems: if the diaphragm starts to malfunction it will inevitably involve the vertebral structures as well.
The diaphragm, however, may also be malfunctioning, and when it goes into distress and thus not functioning at 100% we may have:
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Much difficulty in using it well, and thus it is difficult to "belly swell"
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Difficulty taking deep breaths
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Sore or "untouchable" muscle when trying to palpate it under the ribs
When this happens, there can be a number of consequences at various levels:
ℂ𝔸𝕌𝕊𝔼 ℕ𝔼ℝ𝕍𝕆𝕊𝔼, the diaphragm is the first victim of our anxiety and consequently our breathing becomes faster and shallower ℂ𝔸𝕌𝕊𝔼 𝕄𝔼𝕋𝔸𝔹𝕆𝕃𝕀ℂℍ𝔼, the diaphragm is in direct contact with the stomach which can be a cause of contracture especially if it only occurs on the left side, so if this is your weak point your diaphragm will be affected and consequently all your breathing ℂ𝔸𝕌𝕊𝔼 𝕄𝔼ℂℂ𝔸ℕ𝕀ℂℍ𝔼, the diaphragm cannot work well if you spend a good part of the day in a sitting position or bent forward, and it is therefore much more difficult to take deep breaths with full lungs
In the next lesson we will look at how to breathe well with the diaphragm."
𝚋𝚢 𝙴𝚕𝚒𝚘 𝙶𝚊𝚎𝚝𝚊
