| Themes > Science > Life Sciences > General Biology > Physiology > Human Body > Muscles Menu > The Forearm, Hand and Fingers > The Diaphragm |
Pain referral zone:  The diaphragm:  The diaphragm is the musculomembranous
partition between the thoracic and abdominal cavities, and is
a principal muscle of inspiration.Translation: the diaphragm is a flat muscle in a dome-like shape that separates your chest cavity from your abdominal cavity. When it contracts, it pulls down into the abdomen, thus creating a vacuum in the chest cavity that draws air into the lungs. Exhaling is done by contracting the muscles of the abdomen to force the diaphragm upward when it is relaxed. (The muscles around the chest help with this by expanding and contracting the ribcage, but most of the work in breathing should be done by the diaphragm and the abdomen; this is a skill most people had as babies, forgot, and have to relearn as adults.) Trigger points in the diaphragm refer mainly into the middle back. |
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