Understanding the Connection Between Asthma and Thoracic Health

Asthma is an illness that has many unknown areas. There are several theories surrounding aspects like the causes, reason for the triggers and even some theories on how to determine the early signs. However, one significant characteristic that asthma sufferers are known to share is an anomaly in the thorax.

Definition of Thorax

• The thorax is an area of the body, not a particular body part. It is the chest area that includes the ribs, the spine, lungs, heart, sternum and diaphragm.

Asthma Connection

• Doctors have noticed that asthmatics have a thorax that expands larger than it normally should on one side or over the entire thorax. The result is a barrel-shaped chest. This condition also causes the chest to rise and fall less than usual during normal breathing.

Causes

• The shallow breathing that many asthmatics use to "catch their breath" causes the muscles attached to the ribs (intercostal muscles) to become enlarged from the excessive use. Normal breathing relies heavily on the diaphragm muscles. Overusing the intercostals causes the thorax to hyperexpand.