Pacific Paddler February, 2016 - (Page 35)

Breathing Mechanics for Paddlers Do you frequently get neck and shoulder discomfort or low back pain midway into crosstraining runs or long paddles? While there are many factors leading to shoulder and low back injuries, changing your breathing mechanics may be the solution to your pain. Anatomy and Biomechanics The primary muscle used for breathing is your diaphragm. The diaphragm is a dome shaped sheet of muscle that attaches from ribs, sternum, and inserts to lower spine. It also acts as one of the "core stabilizers" of your body, along with transversus abdominis, pelvic floor, and multifidi musculatures. During inspiration, the diaphragm contracts and flattens inferiorly towards the pelvis, creating more space for the lung to receive oxygen. With expiration, the diaphragm relaxes and resets back into the dome shape. When this is accomplished, a type of breathing termed diaphragmatic or stomach breathing is performed. With fatigue during long runs and feeling out of breath, instead of the diaphragm being the primary muscle for inspiration, some athletes will start recruiting shoulder and upper back muscu- latures as primary muscles for inspiration, termed chest breathing. This can be spotted easily with runners shrugging their shoulders while running or during repetitive paddling. Due to over recruitment of these secondary breathing muscles (i.e. upper trapezius, levator scapulae, scalenes), chest breathers often present with neck/shoulder discomfort. Fatigue of the diaphragm can also lead to low back pain as it is one of the primary core musculature. Remember that the diaphragm attaches to the spine, and keeps your trunk stable during your run. While chest breathing may be the only solution to keep yourself from running more distances, if the diaphragm cannot meet the demands of your run, it can lead to discomfort in your neck, shoulder, and low back musculatures. The Solution To practice diaphragmatic or stomach breathing, simply place one hand on your stomach, the other on your chest. As you go through inspiration, focus on filling air from your stomach and less from your chest. Notice and appreciate how the chest and stomach expand. You should feel the stomach move more than your chest. Repeat for about 5 minutes every morning or evening to familiarize yourself with this type of breathing. Then, slowly start to incorporate this into your stroke. Inhale as you reach, and exhale as you pull the paddle through the water. When doing faster strokes, try to find a rhythm that works for you and your body. This will take practice. So have fun! MOTOKI NAKAMURA, PT, DPT AT JACO PHYSICAL REHABILITATION FEBRUARY / MARCH 2016 PACIFICPADDLER.com 35 http://www.jacorehab.com http://www.jacorehab.com http://www.PACIFICPADDLER.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Paddler February, 2016

Kanaka Ikaika
Pacific Northwest
OIA
Cook Islands - Vaka Eiva
California Paddling
Wetdashe Dry Change Race
Ikaika Waterman: Kai Wilding
Breathing Mechanics for Paddlers
Vaka Taumoku

Pacific Paddler February, 2016