What did you notice? How can you explain this observation? What is the take home message of this exercise?

Question

 Sit or stand for this experiment. Slump your shoulders and slightly round your upper back (thoracic region), hang your head forward as if looking at your phone on at your waist/ on your lap. Now, in that position, take a deep breath. Use your diaphragm, intercostals, and even neck muscles to keep breathing in deeply. Notice how long you can breathe in for, the amount of time as well as the volume. Now, roll your shoulders up and back, put a small sway in your lumbar region, and bring your head so that it balances atop your cervical spine looking straight forward. Now repeat the inhalation. Breathe deeply with the diaphragm, intercostals, and neck muscles. Note how long you are able to make this inhalation and the volume of this inhalation compared with the previous inhalation you notice?

Answer 1

The first position that you are describing is similar to what we often call the "recovery" position for patients who are experiencing shortness of breath due to pulmonary dysfunction. In the slumped over position, the anterior-to-posterior dimensions of the thoracic cavity are increased, the diaphragm is put on a slight "slack", and the pelvis is placed into a posterior tilt which can also assist the diaphragm in inhalation by relaxing the abdominal musculature. That would explain why the duration and volume of the inhalation is greater. In the second position you are describing, because you are out of this "resting" position, the mechanics are slightly altered. The lordotic curve in the lumbar spine (described as a "small sway") stretches the abdominals and can impact the ability of the diaphragm to contract/descend during inhalation. As a result, you might feel that the inhalation is slightly shorter and the volume is slightly less (it should not be a drastic change though). Hope this helps!