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What muscles that allow the expansion and collapse of the chest are involved in breathing?

A person cannot live without air for more than a minute on average. Breathing is the basis of all physiological processes in the human body.

One may wonder: what muscles of the chest (photo below) are involved in the expansion of the chest? And one more thing: what makes the exhale possible? Readers will find answers to these questions in this article.

muscles providing expansion and collapse of the chest

Lung work model

The main respiratory organ in the human body does not function independently; muscle groups help it. The lungs are not able to move and resize on their own. For this, nature provides muscles that provide expansion and collapse of the chest.

In order for air to enter the lungs, it is necessary to create conditions under which the volume of the respiratory organ increases and the pressure inside decreases.

Let's do an experiment. Squeeze a slightly perforated rubber ball in a fist, imagining that it is light. The hand, its muscles will do the job, and the object inside will decrease in volume. The air from the gap begins to come out.

Now we will relax the brush, the ball will begin to straighten due to the elasticity of the material and will “draw” part of the air through the hole.

Inspiratory muscles

Anatomy of the muscles of the chest is studied together, as they work as synergists. Inhalation occurs with the help of the main (inspiratory) muscle group:

  1. Diaphragm. It is attached by tendon processes to the upper vertebrae of the lumbar spine. Above is a muscle sheet that delimits the lower chest aperture and the mediastinum. When inhaling, the diaphragm goes down (dome-shaped), moving the internal organs, and creating a decrease in pressure in the lungs.
  2. Intercostal muscles (external) . There are 22 in total (11 on each side). Their function is the raising and expansion of the chest. Each is attached to the lower edge of the rib lying above (near the joints of the spine), and stretches forward and down to the upper edge of the rib lying below.
  3. Raising ribs. They raise the ribs, are attached from the back (on the transverse processes of the thoracic region) and continue to the corners of the ribs.
  4. Toothed muscle (back) . It is attached to the spinous processes of the vertebrae of the cervicothoracic junction (C6, C7, TH1, TH2) and stretches to the upper ribs (2 - 5). It is also capable of raising the costal arches and tilting the spine with one-sided contraction.
    chest muscle anatomy

This is quite enough to take a full breath. In the atlas of anatomy, you can clearly see them and find out what the chest muscles are called. But it turns out that all people use them differently. There is a so-called individual "breathing pattern" of a person.

Boost

Often the upper and lower muscles are included in the work, providing expansion and collapse of the chest, from the so-called "auxiliary" group (expiratory):

  • chest (large and small);
  • staircase;
  • GCS;
  • gear (front).

lower chest muscles

Types of breath

There are varieties in which the muscles that provide expansion and collapse of the chest are included in different ways.

  1. Normal. For a healthy person, the diaphragm and intercostal muscles are enough to draw air into the lungs. Let's see how they work. The diaphragm is a unique flattened muscle that is attached from below by the legs of the tendons to the upper vertebrae of the lumbar spine. Above - this is a large muscle sheet that can stretch and contract to the state of the dome. When inhaling, the diaphragmatic dome goes down, expanding the costal arches, reducing the pressure inside the lungs (in the alveoli). Intercostal muscles help expand the thoracic aperture.
  2. Reinforced. Sometimes you have to breathe "forcefully." For example, when playing sports or at the time of excitement. Often people with asthma have to do this. In this case, the brain connects the “helpers”. They can serve, mainly, representatives of the "auxiliary" group, one way or another, attached to the chest, shoulder blades, skull, shoulder. Due to their joint coordinated work, it is possible to quantitatively increase the volume of the lungs.

what are the muscles of the chest

Exhale

Upper and lower chest muscles anatomy is studied to explain the characteristics of breathing in different people. Knowing the principles of muscle structure, you can perform various breathing exercises.

Exhaling is as important as inhaling. In order for the air to escape from the lungs, the muscles just need to relax. Inertia the chest will fall and exhale.

But it is also reinforced. If you exhale forcefully, then the various muscles of the upper torso are included in the work. In addition to inspiratory and expiratory, neck muscles (trapezius, scalene, and others), pectoral (small and large), and also muscle groups attached to the shoulder joints and shoulder blades can contract.

chest muscle photo

Full Breathing Technique

An interesting fact: if you increase the volume of breathing by 10 percent, then you can extend your life to 10 years. There are many techniques available to increase lung capacity. One of them is the practice of "full breath", which came from yoga. It involves all the muscles that provide expansion and collapse of the chest.

To do this, inhalation is performed from the bottom up, first the diaphragm is activated (the stomach is inflated), then the middle part of the lungs (lower chest), in the end - the upper parts of the lungs (shoulders go up). After this, a short pause (a few seconds) should be made. Exhale in the reverse order.

It is also effective to work with muscles that provide breathing with the help of aerobic exercises (running, cycling, jumping, walking, dancing). All this improves the vital functions of the lungs, well-being, overall health and prolongs the years of life.

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