Back & Neck Pain

  1. Home
  2. Health
  3. Back & Neck Pain

The Significance of the Mechanics of Breathing

Posture

By Anne Asher, About.com

Updated: October 24, 2005

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

So why is this important?

It just so happens that the muscles that work to allow space in the chest and torso for the lungs to be able to fill with air, and the muscles that push air out of the lungs, also work to hold the body upright in its many positions. That is, the breathing muscles are also posture muscles. The main breathing/posture muscles are:
  • diaphram
  • abdominals
  • intercostals - sets of muscles that crisscross and are located in between ribs
There are other breathing muscles, but using these exclusively tend to impair both posture and breathing, rather than enhance them, so I won't mention them here!

Explore Back & Neck Pain

About.com Special Features

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

Back & Neck Pain

  1. Home
  2. Health
  3. Back & Neck Pain
  4. Posture
  5. Posture and Breathing Muscles

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.