𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗜
Today we present the third medical lesson, written by Professor Gaeta. Happy reading!
"Ancient oriental practices, both of martial and Taoist origin, rightly considered the diaphragm a muscle of extraordinary importance for both physical health and psychological and emotional well-being.
I cannot dwell on the subject here, so I will limit myself to providing a summary of the basic anatomical and functional information about this muscle, with the intention of returning to the topic in future posts.
It is, therefore, the most important of the respiratory muscles—those muscles that, by expanding the thoracic cavity, draw air from the outside into the airways due to a specific law of physics, exactly as happens when we draw air or liquid by moving the plunger of a syringe.
𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕤?
They are certainly voluntary muscles like those of the limbs and back, but with a major difference: our arms move only when we send the motor command with our will.
The respiratory muscles, on the other hand, respond like arm muscles to our voluntary commands, but normally, without us even noticing, they are activated rhythmically and automatically by commands originating from specific involuntary centers in the brain.
This very particular relationship of respiration with our brain and our will is notoriously one of the cornerstones of yoga practice and philosophy.
But we promised not to digress, so let's return to the anatomy of the diaphragm.
The diaphragm is a thick, dome-shaped muscle-tendon sheet, convex upwards, that separates the thorax from the abdomen.
Its upper surface is in contact with the lung bases and the heart, while its lower surface is in contact with the liver, stomach, spleen, and left kidney.
It attaches with its peripheral tendinous bundles to the last 6 ribs, the sternum, and the lumbar vertebrae, while in the center, towards the top of the dome, the muscle fibers converge into a wide, clover-shaped tendinous area that is traversed by the inferior vena cava, which passes from the abdominal cavity into the thorax.
The right and left tendinous pillars of the posterior peripheral attachments on the lumbar vertebrae, together with the vertebrae themselves, delimit the so-called aortic hiatus, the orifice adjacent to the spinal column that allows the descending aorta to pass between the thorax and the abdomen.
These pillars, together with the vertebrae, form a sort of osteotendinous ring that is quite rigid and undeformable, protecting the aorta from the constant movements and contractions of the diaphragm.
It is important to always consider the diaphragm when discussing cervical or lumbar problems: if the diaphragm starts to malfunction, it will inevitably involve the vertebral structures as well.
However, the diaphragm might also not function well, and when it struggles and therefore doesn't function at 100%, we might experience:
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Great difficulty in using it properly, making it hard to "inflate the belly"
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Difficulty taking deep breaths
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A sore or "untouchable" muscle when trying to palpate it under the ribs
When this happens, there can be a series of consequences at various levels:
ℕ𝔼ℝ𝕍𝕆𝕌𝕊 ℂ𝔸𝕌𝕊𝔼𝕊, the diaphragm is the first victim of our anxiety, and consequently our breathing becomes faster and shallower 𝕄𝔼𝕋𝔸𝔹𝕆𝕃𝕀ℂ ℂ𝔸𝕌𝕊𝔼𝕊, the diaphragm is in direct contact with the stomach, which can cause contraction, especially if it occurs only on the left side; so if this is your weak point, your diaphragm will be affected, and consequently, your entire breathing pattern 𝕄𝔼ℂℍ𝔸ℕ𝕀ℂ𝔸𝕃 ℂ𝔸𝕌𝕊𝔼𝕊, the diaphragm cannot work well if you spend a good part of the day in a sitting or hunched-forward position, making it much harder to take deep, full-lung breaths
In the next lesson, we will see how to breathe well with the diaphragm."
𝚋𝚢 𝙴𝚕𝚒𝚘 𝙶𝚊𝚎𝚝𝚊