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Trunk Muscles
Published in Eve K. Boyle, Vondel S. E. Mahon, Rui Diogo, Handbook of Muscle Variations and Anomalies in Humans, 2022
Eve K. Boyle, Vondel S. E. Mahon, Rui Diogo, Rowan Sherwood
Satoh and Shu (1968) studied the levatores costarum muscles in a Japanese population and note instances where a muscle originated via tendinous fibers from the lateral side of levator costae brevis and passed over the rib above to insert into the belly of levator costae brevis in the next intercostal space. These authors suggest that it is an inverted and incomplete form of levator costae longus. Satoh and Shu (1968) also categorized bundles of levatores costarum longi into four types. They defined type A as an incomplete form of the muscle which terminated on the external intercostal in the next intercostal space after crossing only over one rib. Type B is the typical presentation of this muscle, which crosses over one rib to insert onto the next rib and thus spans two intercostal spaces. Type C bundles crossed two intercostal spaces and terminated on the external intercostal muscle in the next intercostal space. Type D bundles extended over three intercostal spaces (Satoh and Shu 1968).
A to Z Entries
Published in Clare E. Milner, Functional Anatomy for Sport and Exercise, 2019
The muscles of the thorax itself are the internal and external intercostals, subcostals, transverse thoracis, levatores costarum, inferior and superior serratus posterior, and the diaphragm. The 11 intercostal muscles lie between the ribs and draw adjacent ribs together. When the first rib is braced by the scalene muscles that run between it and the cervical vertebrae, the external intercostals increase the volume of the thoracic cavity by raising the ribs on contraction. Conversely, when the last rib is braced by the quadratus lumborum muscle in the lumbar region, the internal intercostals decrease the volume of the thoracic cavity. Similarly, the action of transversus thoracis is to draw the anterior part of the ribs distally and decrease the volume of the thoracic cavity. The levatores costarum and superior serratus posterior raise the ribs and increase the thoracic volume. The inferior serratus posterior draws the distal ribs outwards and downwards, counteracting the inward pull of the diaphragm.
Flexibility and strength training in asthma: A pilot study
Published in Journal of Asthma, 2018
Sara Olenich, Graeme Waterworth, Gary J. Badger, Bruce Levy, Elliot Israel, Helene M. Langevin
Breathing retraining does not typically include attention to posture and dysfunction of the chest wall and shoulder girdle musculature, including chronic shortened (or lengthened) muscles and associated connective tissues. It is well recognized that the pathophysiology and symptomatology of asthma are complex and extend beyond the lung to involve psychosocial factors and neuroimmune stress responses (22). It is also clear that the uncomfortable sensations experienced by asthmaFigure 1 patients during an exacerbation are complex and have strong affective overlays (23). Although the typical chest “tightness” described by asthmatic patients is believed to be primarily due to bronchoconstriction (23), the possibility that dysfunction and “tension” of skeletal muscles may contribute to this sensation of tightness has received little attention. The diaphragm and intercostal muscles are used in breathing, and depending on the degree of respiratory effort, other muscles can participate as well, including classical accessory muscles of breathing (sternocleidomastoid and scalene) and some less commonly recognized including: serratus anterior and posterior, pectoralis major and minor, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, levatores costarum, transversus thoracis, and subclavius (24). These same muscles are involved in maintaining posture, as well as performing voluntary movements of the trunk, neck, and shoulder girdle. A study comparing subjects with and without asthma found that asthmatics had more postural abnormalities including forward head and shoulder position, lower chest wall expansion, decreased shoulder internal rotation, decreased thoracic spine flexibility, and muscle shortening (25). Although these musculoskeletal and postural dysfunctions might be a consequence of asthma, it is also possible that they contribute to its disease manifestations. If this is true, correcting posture and improving muscular function might lead to an improvement of asthma symptoms.