Role of the diaphragm in trunk rotation in humans

Escrito por

Anna L. Hudson, Jane E. Butler, Simon C. Gandevia, Andre De Troyer


THE MECHANICS of a skeletal muscle is essentially determined by the anatomy of the muscle and the structures it displaces when it contracts. Given that the muscle fibers of the costal portion
of the diaphragm run cranially and dorsally from their insertion on the lower ribs, it would therefore be expected that isolated contraction of one hemidiaphragm would both lift these ribs
and pull them backward relative to the upper ribs.

In addition, even though the diaphragm is the main inspiratory muscle, it receives corticospinal inputs (e.g., Gandevia and Rothwell 1987; Murphy et al. 1990) and is involved in a range of nonrespiratory contractions, such as stabilization of the trunk prior to rapid arm movements (Hodges et al. 1997), flexion of the upper and lower extremities (Kolar et al. 2010), and trunk extension (in patients with complete cervical spinal cord injury, Sinderby et al. 1992; see also Hodges et al. 2001).

On these grounds, we hypothesized that the muscle would participate in ipsilateral rotation of the trunk. Thus the right hemidiaphragm would contract during rotation of the trunk to the
right to pull the lower rib cage on the right side dorsally relative to the spine, whereas it would remain silent during rotation of the trunk to the left (contralateral rotation). Conversely, the left hemidiaphragm would contract during rotation of the trunk to the left to pull the lower rib cage on the left side dorsally relative to the spine.

Acesse o conteúdo completo

Conheça outros artigos

Acesse nossos artigos sobre o método RTA.

Leia outro artigo: Efeito da aplicação do método reequilíbrio toracoabdominal (RTA) em prematuros moderados: ensaio clínico randomizado e controlado

Escrito por Jaqueline Lomônaco Lemos, Denise Iunes, Aline Roberta Danaga, Carmélia Rocha, Juliana Bassalobre Carvalho Borges

Leia outro artigo: Influência do método Reequilíbrio Toracoabdominal em recém-nascidos pré-termos pós síndrome de desconforto respiratório, internados na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal – Estudo de casos

Escrito por Cadi Caroline da Rocha Tassinari, Lucas Koop, Sabrina Felin Nunes, Vivian da Pieve Antunes

Leia outro artigo: Tratamento fisioterapêutico com a utilização do método Reequilíbrio Toracoabdominal em paciente com pneumonia aspirativa

Escrito por Vieira M. P. B., Mendes R. A. G. S. M.