3 min read | Clinical Tool Kit
Breathe better to Move better -The effect of Diaphragm on the Shoulder
Written by Aditi Parekh
Graphics by Ria Gorey
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Peek into:
Imagine being stuck with a patient after a few sessions. You have tried every technique in your bag but still after a few sessions your patient reaches a plateau in his/her improvement. You ask your patient, “how’s your pain?” and the reply you receive is “it is not much better doc.” Frustrating right?
You do not know what more you can do for them now. Such frustrating cases trigger you to think out of the box.
But does always thinking out of the box help?
Our body itself is a box with various interconnections that contains all the problems as well as the solutions to it. So instead of thinking outside the box sometimes the need is to think what can you do with the box?
Shoulder has been a very intriguing joint with varied pathologies causing various impairments. Shoulder impairments present in the form of pain, restrictions in range, biomechanical dysfunctions etc. These cause significant limitations in the patient’s life which need to be addressed at the earliest to improve their quality of life.
Shoulder has been managed with various approaches of mobilizations, manipulations, stretching, strengthening, kinetic control etc. which have proven to be successful.
Recent studies are trying to think of the connectivity of the shoulder with the diaphragm and ribcage that may help the shoulder recover faster and better. “Let’s inhale the future and exhale the past. Breathe better to move better.”
Shoulder is connected to the ribs and diaphragm in the following manner: myofascial planes, nervous innervation (motor and autonomic)
Refer to our article “Taking life in your own hands – Manual therapy for the diaphragm” for insights into the clinical aspects of carrying out these concepts.
Our body is a mystery box that has all its keys embedded within. It just takes the right eye to find it. Shoulder is a joint complex with various joints linked in an intricate fashion. Keen observation and critical thinking is the need of hours to crack tricky cases.
Just breathe, Sometimes you are just a few breaths away from feeling better.
-Amy Poehler
Book reference for further research: Anatomy Trains by Thomas Myers
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