Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a rather broad diagnosis encompassing several many lung diseases including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and other pulmonary disorders characterized by the pathological restriction of normal airflow through one’s airway and lungs. COPD is most commonly caused by smoking but may also be a resultant consequence of air pollution, second-hand smoke, a history of childhood respiratory complications, and genetic inheritance. As of 2003, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.
Current treatment options for COPD include the administration of steroid inhalers, prescribed for both long-term management and temporary relief from acute, short-term attacks, antibiotics, and even supplemental oxygen. The chronic application of steroidal remedies poses serious health risks for their users, however. Long-term use of such systemic steroids increases one’s susceptibility to viral and fungal infections, and as such, they are used rather exclusively in the interim, providing temporary assistance to breathing.
Although COPD is incurable and its treatment methods leave much to be desired, Muscular Therapy may provide an alternative avenue through which to lessen the severity of its symptoms. Compounding COPD’s obstructive effect on airflow, tightened musculature acts to restrict normal breathing as well. Severely constricted muscles across one’s ribcage and even musculature pulling one’s head forward, rounding one’s shoulders and hunching one’s spine all act to reduce the effective space in which the lungs and air passages have to operate. This consequently leads to reduced efficiency and greater strain while trying to intake air. But by lengthening these associated muscles, what positive benefits might be accrued to the most vital and fundamental process of respiration? The sections which follow explore this question as it relates to specific respiratory ailments, but their conclusions may be applied universally to all musculature, bodily process, and conditions such as COPD.
Sore Throat & Bronchitis
Airborne bacteria and viruses are present in varying concentrations throughout the year and may lead you to develop a sore throat, bronchitis, or even pneumonia if they settle in your throat and lungs. The pain you experience during these illnesses is caused not by the bacteria or virus itself, but by the contraction of your musculature as your body fights to ward off disease. As you cough, sneeze, and shiver, your muscles harden, shorten, and cause you added discomfort. Relaxing these muscles will not only help you feel better but get better! Shortened, tight muscles restrict blood flow while lengthened, relaxed musculature facilitates the circulation of blood, a physiological phenomenon imperative to your wellbeing. Improved blood flow allows white blood cells and antibiotics to move more quickly to the site of infection and combat bacteria. Its net result finds you getting well more quickly.
Musculature may also affect your recovery time by limited your breathing capacity. If air cannot be drawn into the bottom of your lungs, the residual phlegm created as your body combats bacteria will be unable to rise through the lungs’ cilia, or hair-like structures, to be expelled. Unnecessarily tightened musculature across one’s ribcage can effectively limit the amount of oxygen and total volume of air received by the lungs, thus prolonging the infection. Conversely, relaxed musculature permits blood to circulate with ease allowing the immune system to better perform its job fighting off infections.
Swallowing & Throat Difficulties
Try jutting your head forward as far as possible. Now try to swallow; try to speak. In such a position neither of these actions is very easily accomplished. Try these same actions now with your head turned to the side. You will experience the same result. Your head is not designed to work efficiently in these positions. If muscles are pulling your head forward, or if the opening of your ear is not aligned with the center of your shoulder, you are going to find these everyday activities difficult and bothersome. Simply lengthen these muscles, and the problem is solved.
Sleep apnea is characterized by intermittent interruptions in breathing during sleep. If your throat muscles are shortened, you are at greater risk to develop this disorder. Physicians most often search for tumors or growths blocking the body's internal airways when diagnosing sleep apnea. But if your head is projected forward and your muscles are severely tightened, your displaced posture and musculature actually act to press upon your windpipe. In effect, you are constricting your windpipe externally through pressure applied by your own muscles and bad posture. Alleviating your sleep apnea may be as simple as lengthening your cranial and neck muscles, though assisting apnea devices and antibiotics are also of great benefit to many.
If someone were to sit on your chest, it would make it quite difficult for you to breathe! Tight musculature across your ribcage restricts your lung capacity in much the same manner. You can test this yourself by having someone literally sit on your chest, or you can simply try breathing while hunched over. Your ribcage will not properly expand as you inhale, making it extremely hard for you to breathe. Muscular Therapy alleviates this condition by lengthening the musculature restricting your breathing process and allowing you to take more voluminous breaths with greater ease.
The diaphragm is a muscle located at the bottom of your ribcage which depresses when you breathe. It is like the diaphragm in any mechanical pump; i.e., it acts as a bellows mechanism. As it descends, the ribcage is forced to expand. Muscles in the low back pull down on the ribcage while musculature around the neck pulls up on it. Additional muscles in between the ribs push the ribcage apart as well. In this configuration, the ribcage functions like an accordion, expanding and contracting.
Testing your diaphragm's functionality is a simple procedure you can perform yourself. If you put your hand lightly on the bottom of your ribcage and take a deep breath, your bottom rib should move up and down as well as in and out. A lung capacity test can also determine whether your diaphragm is operating correctly. During this test you simply take a deep breath and blow into a balloon. A technician measures how many millimeters of air you move as you inflate the balloon. Hampered by someone sitting on your chest or severely tightened musculature across your ribcage, you are not going to perform well in this exercise. However, if you lengthen the musculature across your ribcage–front, back and sides–you will experience a tremendous boost in the volume of air you can inhale. This enhancement may be measured, and you will most certainly notice an improvement in your health and athletic performance. Instead of getting winded three miles into a run, you will have the stamina to complete five. The changes can be dramatic!
Asthma, Emphysema & Pneumonia
During an asthmatic attack or bout of pneumonia, your lung capacity greatly diminishes. You may lose up to twenty-five percent of your breathing capacity. Tight muscles across your ribcage might restrict another fifty percent of your breathing capability. Both of these ailments in conjunction equate to a seventy-five percent loss in your normal breathing faculty. If you lengthen the muscles prohibiting your ribcage from expanding and contracting while breathing, you will restore much of your breathing functionality. While you cannot cure asthma or emphysema, you can make your life much more comfortable through Muscular Therapy.
Every time you have an asthmatic or emphysema attack you are faced with another potential problem as well. The trauma associated with the attack causes the muscles surrounding your ribcage to further tighten, creating a vicious cycle of continually diminishing breathing capacity. Every attack further reduces your respiratory functionality. If you do not lengthen the musculature across your ribcage, your attacks will become progressively worse. Fortunately Muscular Therapy provides an efficient and effective means to maintenance your body!
Posture (Rolled Shoulders, Hunching)
Proper posture not only improves your aesthetic appearance but also aids in the overall systemic health of your body. Poor vertebral posture puts unnecessary stress on your body as you breathe, swallow, sit, and even sleep! Think of your body as a finely tuned machine. Every minute force of resistance it encounters as it performs basic functions such as breathing and swallowing actually impacts negatively upon its operational efficiency. Reduced efficiency equates to increased fatigue and pain. Correcting your posture acts to tweak your body for maximum effectiveness and reduce medical side effects often spawned by sub par posture. You will look better, feel better, and perform better in every task you undertake.