Diaphragmatic Breathing
Question:
(…..) > Or buy a recorder. They are a farly cheep wind interment (though wouldnt be > as effective as the clarinet as wood winds are harder to breath threw). > Elf-Kin > Angela Crabtree
I’ve since heard that "nose flutes" (nasal flutes or nasally blown flutes) are good. cheers. R. Friedel
Response:
> How about some scientist doing research on the method (i. e. doses of > hypercapnic and hypoxic breathing to get the lungs into better shape)? > The device has a FDA registration and a US patent. Cheers, R Friedel.
Could be something to it. My lung capacity was considerably large, and there was virtually no evidence of asthma during the time I was playing the clarinet and other wind instruments. Since then I’ve become more of a "chest breather" I’ve often thought about taking up the clarinet again just for the health benefits it seemed to have. It needs several hundred $$ worth of repairs at this point, though.
Response:
> Could be something to it. My lung capacity was considerably large, and > there was virtually no evidence of asthma during the time I was playing > the clarinet and other wind instruments. Since then I’ve become more of > a "chest breather" I’ve often thought about taking up the clarinet again > just for the health benefits it seemed to have. It needs several hundred > $$ worth of repairs at this point, though.
For a text on diaphragmatic breathing specially for musicians (singers) see http://www.multimania.com/chant/contribu/cLHdiaph.htm by Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA Professor of Voice, Pedagogy School of Performing Arts Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff For another "hardware" solution, see Net texts on the Voldyne breathing incentive device. The Net texts generally present diaphragmatic breathing as the epitome of naturalness and emphasize the beneficial effects of massage on the abdominal organs. However a lot of people may well not have time for special breathing routines. Cheers, R. Friedel
Response:
The following is intended to be food for thought. Diaphragmatic or belly breathing is often recommended for asthma and studies have reported improvements in peakflow (FEV1), see f. i. Inspiratory muscle training in patients with bronchial asthma, P Weiner et al. Chest 1992, 102, 1357-61. On the diaphragm itself the Weiner paper states, material added by me in []: "Hyperinflation shortens the inspiratory muscles and diminishes their ability to generate negative pressure while inspiring. It causes the flattening of the diaphragm, which in turn places it in a serious mechanical disadvantage, because it has to be curved upwards (according to Laplace’s law) in order to be effective. The axial direction of the diaphragmatic fibers is also lost by hyperinflation. They are directed medially or inward and have mainly exspiratory action. The area of apposition between the costal fibers of the diaphragm and the inner rib cage becomes smaller, resulting in less effective rib cage expansion during inspiration. The thoracic elastic recoil that is normally directed outwardly, in resting lung volume, becomes directed inwardly with hyperinflation causing an added elastic load to the inspiratory muscles. Hyperinflation also places the ribs in a more horizontal position, causing the external intercostal muscles to act as exspiratory muscles instead of the normal inspiratory action. Finally, as the contraction forces increase to develop the inspiratory pressure necessary to inflate the hyperinflated lung, the respiratory muscle blood supply may be altered. A number of studies have been carried out to correlate dyspnea and respiratory muscle performance. It was well documented that the intensity of breathlessness is related to the activity and the strength of the inspiratory muscles." The study involved daily 1/2 hour periods of training 5 times a week for 6 months breathing in against a predetermined resistance ("The subjects received either SIMT [specific inspiratory muscle training] or sham training with a threshold inspiratory muscle trainer (TIMT) (Threshold Inspiratory Muscle Trainer, Healthscan, NJ).") Exactly what device was used is not 100% clear. Blinding was intended but lost. Interestingly the authors state. "…one [patient] in the placebo group was able to stop [oral/IM corticosteroid therapy]" This should show that diaphragmatic exercises are a respectable part of "mainstream" research leading to a scientific effect as good as any to be achieved in physical therapy testing with the limitations as regards blinding. I got what seemed to me ("one swallow does not make a summer", as the saying goes) quicker results with the Frolov device (see Http://www.frolov.com), which I will try to describe, not so much with the intent of doing an ad for said device and rather to indicate how effective diaphragm exercises are done with any protocol. The device causes a sort of shock therapy for the lungs, supposed to be a sort of tonic good for a large number of conditions, and involves rebreathing through about 250 ml. Breath flows though a small quantity of water giving a pressure head of a few millimeters and making any breathing audible at once. There is a special timer to download from the Frolov site. The aim mainly, it seems to slow down breathing as a far as possible, that is to say extend the respiratory cycle (one breath in + one breath out) and concentrating on breathing with the diaphragm. The effects on me were firstly a feeling that I was able to get really tough on my diaphragm, like blowing up a balloon under my stomach. Quite different to habitual chest breathing. This feeling is also confirmed in other training protocols (Erik Peper). This for me almost unnatural feeling was accompanied by a feeling of freeing my chest, like the feeling a non-asthmatic gets on taking a deep breath. My previous attempts at learning diaphragmatic breathing by concentrating on outward movement of the abdomen only seem to have been without any proper breathing action. Secondly, during the course of training (five weeks in all) the feeling that my diaphragm was somehow lamed disappeared and there was no longer any difficulty in taking a deep breath. Thirdly the fatal connection between heavy exertion and a spasm in the chest seemed to be gone. Maximum exertion was limited by more normal symptoms such as pains in the legs, strain on the heart and a feeling that my circulation was not up to it. I got short of breath, but as far as I was able to tell, this was not "asthmatic". Fourthly, after about 15 mins. of exercise on the device it becomes easier to slow down breathing further. The maximum breath cycle time I managed with the device was 35 secs, but there seemed little point in going any further. How about some scientist doing research on the method (i. e. doses of hypercapnic and hypoxic breathing to get the lungs into better shape)? The device has a FDA registration and a US patent. Cheers, R Friedel.
Response:
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