Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbomb here. You've perhaps experienced the phenomenon of getting
Speaker 1: the wind knocked out of you when you've got nailed
Speaker 1: in the chest with a large ball during as sports game,
Speaker 1: or when you fell off a bicycle or a jungle gym,
Speaker 1: or maybe just fell out of bed. But what does
Speaker 1: this phrase mean? Really? What's physically going on when you
Speaker 1: take a hard blow to the abdomen or chest. It
Speaker 1: can disrupt the process of breathing. Under normal circumstances, we
Speaker 1: don't have to think about breathing. Of course, we can
Speaker 1: take purposeful breaths if we want to, but it's generally
Speaker 1: handled by our autonomic or involuntary nervous system. Your brain
Speaker 1: works with sensors in your body to determine how much
Speaker 1: oxygen you need to be taken in, and then cues
Speaker 1: the muscles in your abdomen and chest to tmically contract,
Speaker 1: thus creating a slight vacuum around the lungs, which causes
Speaker 1: air to flow in through your windpipe and then relax
Speaker 1: letting the lungs deflate. So it makes sense that taking
Speaker 1: a sharp knock to that area would work up the process.
Speaker 1: The medical term for this is frontispasm. A friend here
Speaker 1: means diaphragm. That's the main muscle used in breathing. That
Speaker 1: forceful impact can cause the diaphragm to either spasm or
Speaker 1: become temporarily paralyzed. So your lungs probably empty due to
Speaker 1: the impact and they can't fill back up with air
Speaker 1: for at least a few seconds. It can feel really
Speaker 1: uncomfortable and even scary, but fortunately it's usually not medically significant.
Speaker 1: Just do your best remain calm. I know it's easier
Speaker 1: than done. A relaxing your body might help your diaphragm
Speaker 1: relax more quickly, and as your diaphragm relaxes, you'll soon
Speaker 1: be able to take a deep breath again. Keep those
Speaker 1: breath smooth, slow, steady, and deep to avoid sending your
Speaker 1: body into further panic. Panic can actually cause a different
Speaker 1: kind of breathlessness, a shortness of breath or feeling winded.
Speaker 1: The medical term for that is you may have felt
Speaker 1: it when you went a little bit too hard during
Speaker 1: physical activity, but it can be caused by other factors
Speaker 1: like mental or physical health. A dyspnia isn't a short
Speaker 1: spasm it's a result of something being off in that
Speaker 1: brain sensors muscle system that determines how much oxygen we
Speaker 1: need versus how much we're getting. Maybe the muscles can't
Speaker 1: keep up with the demand, or maybe something else is
Speaker 1: going wrong in the system and oxygen isn't getting where
Speaker 1: it needs to be, or maybe the signals themselves are faulty.
Speaker 1: Just getting the wind knocked out of you isn't usually
Speaker 1: serious and will resolve on its own in a few seconds.
Speaker 1: The only time you might consider seeing a doctor is
Speaker 1: if that same knock netted you another injury, like maybe
Speaker 1: you hit your head when you fell, or you continue
Speaker 1: feeling short of breath. That means the blow might have
Speaker 1: bruised your rib muscles or even cracked a rib. Even
Speaker 1: minus any kind of injury, if you feel winded and
Speaker 1: can't seem to catch your breath during normal activities, that's
Speaker 1: a good reason to check in with a medical professional.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article what Happens when
Speaker 1: the Wind's Knocked out of You on HowStuffWorks dot com,
Speaker 1: written by Dominique Michelle Estino. Brainstuff is production of iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com. And is produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Klang. Before more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.