Effect of stretching of the anterior chest on sensation of the back

Abstract

In order to progressively intensify expansion of the anterior chest, subjects took a supine posture on five differently shaped supports. The time to take a supine posture were 5 minutes on the floor, 10 minutes on the shaped supports of one kind, 5 minutes on the floor. The subjective changes in sensation were then investigated at the end of the each period using a 7-point scale and visual analog scale. Wilcoxon rank sum test, Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used for statistical analysis. Subjects were 11 female in good health (ages 19.6±1.03).

Only when subjects lay on the semicircle-shaped support (the semicircular support), with their upper limbs hanging down, there was an increase in feelings like “my back and the floor are stuck together” and “it feels like my back is sinking into the floor” (p<0.05/3). Also, in these same postural conditions, as the feeling of “my back and the floor are stuck together” intensified, “difficulty breathing” and “back discomfort” were reduced (p<0.05). As the feeling “it feels like my back is sinking into the floor” intensified, subjects also reported “easy to breathe,” “my back feels comfortable,” and “a feeling of total security” (p<0.05). Through effective stretching of the anterior chest in a supine posture, subjects’ backs were molded by the objects they contacted, leading to changes in sensation of the back. These sensations of the back then also affected the feelings of their bodies as a whole, and influenced emotional responses as well.