Logan Steele
Coughing is a defensive airway reflex that involves the activation of several laryngeal and respiratory muscles. While coughing does engage your abdominal muscles, it does not cause serious muscle growth. This is because coughing does not place more load on your muscles than they are able to bear. Therefore, coughing cannot give you muscles.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Does coughing give you muscles? | No |
| Coughing engages muscles | Abdominal muscles, expiratory muscles, intercostal muscles, thoracis muscles, and inspiratory muscles |
| Coughing engages core muscles | Yes |
| Coughing builds muscles | No |
| Coughing as a defence mechanism | Yes |
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What You'll Learn
Coughing involves the contraction of abdominal muscles
Coughing is a defensive airway reflex that involves the contraction of several laryngeal and respiratory muscles. The process of coughing is divided into three phases: inspiratory, compressive, and expiratory. During the inspiratory phase, the inspiratory muscles contract to allow for the inhalation of air, which is then followed by the closure of the glottis to prevent the outflow of inhaled air. The expiratory phase involves the contraction of expiratory muscles, which, along with the opening of the glottis, initiates the expulsion of air from the lungs.
The expiratory muscles involved in coughing include the abdominal muscles, transversus thoracis muscles, and intercostal muscles. The abdominal muscles that contract during coughing include the rectus abdominis (RA), external abdominal oblique (EO), internal abdominal oblique (IO), and transversus abdominis (TrA). These abdominal muscles undergo synchronous contraction during coughing, resulting in upward displacement of the diaphragm and increased intra-abdominal pressure (IAP).
The activation of abdominal muscles during coughing has been studied in various contexts, including the comparison between smokers and non-smokers. Research has shown that non-smokers exhibit higher activation of deep abdominal muscles, particularly the IO and TrA, during coughing compared to smokers. This difference in abdominal muscle activation may be attributed to the negative impact of smoking on the musculoskeletal system, resulting in decreased muscle function and cross-sectional areas.
Furthermore, the voluntary and involuntary nature of coughing also influences abdominal muscle activation. Lasserson et al. found that voluntary coughing activates primary expiratory muscles first, followed by the contraction of accessory muscles with a stronger effort. On the other hand, involuntary coughing, such as the laryngeal cough reflex (LCR), triggers a simultaneous contraction of all expiratory muscles, resulting in rapid and synchronous activation that sustains elevated IAP for airway protection.
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Coughing does not lead to muscle growth
Coughing is a defensive airway reflex that involves the sequential activation of several laryngeal and respiratory muscles. While coughing does engage your core muscles, it does not lead to muscle growth. This is because coughing does not place more load on the muscles than they can bear. The muscles simply contract and release over and over with each cough, and there is no muscle breakdown, which is necessary for muscle growth.
When you lift weights, you are loading more weight onto your muscles than they can easily carry. This repeated lifting causes a breakdown in the muscle fibers, which is a good thing because it triggers the body to try and increase strength capacity by increasing the size of the muscle fibers so they can store more energy. This results in greater weight-bearing capacity and stronger muscles. It takes time for this muscle growth to become visible, and you won't see huge muscle gains until you've been consistently lifting weights for weeks or months.
Coughing, on the other hand, is comparable to lifting a very lightweight a few times. Your muscles can easily handle the strain, so there is no muscle breakdown and, therefore, no muscle growth. While the abdominal muscles do tighten during a cough, the tightness is not in response to external stimuli, and the muscles are not overloaded.
Additionally, the purpose of coughing is to clear the airway of mucus and foreign bodies. It is an important defense mechanism, but it does not provide a significant workout for the muscles. The contraction of expiratory muscles during coughing helps generate high-velocity expiratory flow, but this is not equivalent to strength training that stimulates muscle growth.
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Respiratory muscle weakness affects cough capacity
Coughing is a defensive airway reflex that involves the sequential activation of several laryngeal and respiratory muscles. The contraction of the expiratory muscles while the glottis is open initiates the expulsion phase, during which air from the lungs is forcibly expelled. An effective cough is an important host defense mechanism to clear the airway.
Respiratory muscle weakness and decreased cough capacity are the main causes of pulmonary complications that result in morbidity and mortality in patients with neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) and tetraplegics. If the inspiratory muscles are weakened, insufficient pre-cough volume is obtained, and the cough capacity decreases despite functional expiratory muscles. This results in a loss of lung compliance, which may further exacerbate cough weakness by restricting dynamic airway compression.
In patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a degenerative muscle disorder, expiratory muscle weakness and impaired airway clearance are early signs of respiratory dysfunction. The expiratory muscles play an important role in the compression and expulsive phases, and their weakness reduces the effectiveness of the cough.
In a study of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), and DMD, researchers found that inspiratory muscle strength correlated more strongly with cough capacity in SCI patients, while expiratory muscle function was more important for ALS and DMD patients. The study also found that pulmonary function tests, including forced vital capacity (FVC) and respiratory muscle strength, differed depending on the patient's position.
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Coughing is a defensive airway reflex
The cough reflex arc is constituted by an afferent pathway, a central pathway (or "cough centre"), and an efferent pathway. The afferent pathway involves sensory nerve fibres located in the ciliated epithelium of the upper airways, and cardiac and oesophageal branches from the diaphragm. The central pathway is a coordinating region for coughing located in the upper brain stem and pons. The efferent pathway involves impulses travelling from the cough centre to the diaphragm, abdominal wall, and muscles.
The determinant factor of cough efficacy is the operational volume of the lung, which relies on the strength and coordination of respiratory and laryngeal muscles, as well as lung mechanics. Respiratory muscle weakness and dysfunction can decrease the driving pressure applied to the alveoli and bronchial airways, resulting in low expiratory volumes and flows during coughing. This can lead to pulmonary complications and increased susceptibility to lung infections and aspiration pneumonia.
The cough reflex is a natural defence mechanism that prevents harmful materials from entering the airway and removes secretions. It is vagally mediated and results from the coordinated activity of various respiratory muscles. The inspiratory muscles contract to reach the lung volume needed to generate the high velocity of expiratory flow required for an effective cough.
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Abdominal muscle activation during coughing differs between smokers and non-smokers
Coughing is a defensive airway reflex that involves the sequential activation of several laryngeal and respiratory muscles. The contraction of the expiratory muscles against a closed glottis during the compressive phase builds up high positive intrapleural and intra-airway pressures to develop the adequate peak expiratory flow rates during the expulsive phase when the glottis opens.
The purpose of a study conducted in 2016 was to compare the activity of the abdominal muscles during coughing between smokers and nonsmokers. The percentage maximal voluntary isometric contraction values (%MVIC) of the rectus abdominis (RA), external abdominal oblique (EO), and internal abdominal oblique (IO) and transversus abdominis (TrA) were measured using surface electromyography. The %MVIC of the IO and TrA were found to be statistically significantly higher in nonsmokers than smokers. The activity of the deep abdominal muscles in nonsmokers was also higher than that of smokers during coughing.
Another study compared the cross-sectional areas of the muscles of smokers and nonsmokers, finding that the cross-sectional areas of smokers were about 22% less than those of nonsmokers. The results of the studies indicate that the high activity of relatively deep abdominal muscles in nonsmokers affects trunk stabilization, and the high activity of the relatively superficial abdominal muscles in smokers may increase the risk of low back pain and will cause functional changes in the musculoskeletal system.
In conclusion, abdominal muscle activation during coughing differs between smokers and non-smokers, with non-smokers exhibiting higher activation of deep abdominal muscles and smokers exhibiting higher activation of superficial abdominal muscles.
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Frequently asked questions
No, you cannot develop a six-pack from coughing. While coughing does engage your core muscles, there isn't enough effort or load to cause serious muscle growth.
Coughing does work out your muscles, but the effect is comparable to lifting a very lightweight a few times. Your muscles are able to handle the strain, so there is no muscle breakdown and, therefore, no muscle growth.
Coughing activates several laryngeal and respiratory muscles. The expiratory muscles include the abdominal muscles, transversus thoracis muscles, and intercostal muscles. The abdominal muscles include the rectus abdominis, external abdominal oblique, internal abdominal oblique, and transversus abdominis.
Coughing is a defensive airway reflex that helps clear the airway of mucus and/or foreign bodies. While it does not directly strengthen your lungs, it is an important mechanism to maintain lung health.
Yes, smoking affects the musculoskeletal system, and research has shown that the activity of the deep abdominal muscles during coughing is higher in non-smokers than in smokers. Smokers also tend to have a decreased cross-sectional area of their muscles compared to non-smokers.
