Why does barrel chest happen

This can cause problems like chest tightness and pain, and wear out the muscles you use to breathe more quickly, making COPD symptoms even worse.

Severe asthma can cause a barrel chest in a similar way to COPD. However, unlike COPD-related barrel chest, which generally doesn't develop until late adulthood, asthma-related barrel chest can appear in childhood.

This is because asthma can make it difficult to exhale fully and push all the air out of your lungs. This causes air to get trapped in the lungs just as it does in patients with emphysema, preventing the rib cage from contracting and causing a barrel-chested appearance. Arthritis is a disease that affects the joints, and it causes barrel chest in a different way than COPD or asthma. It wears down the joints in the rib cage that anchor your rib bones to your spine, making the rib cage less flexible.

Because of this, the rib cage can no longer expand and contract as easily as it is supposed to. Over time, this stiffness can prevent the rib cage from contracting altogether, forcing it to stay stuck in the expanded position. This causes the chest to have a wider, barrel shape. If you don't get enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet, it impairs your body's ability to repair and strengthen your bones.

In severe cases of calcium deficiency, known as osteoporosis, the bones become so weak and brittle that minor bumps and falls can cause them to bruise and break. Calcium deficiency affects the bones in your rib cage as well, causing them to become weak and misshapen. Over time, this can deform your rib cage and breast bone, changing the outward appearance and leading to a barrel-shaped chest. As we mentioned above, sometimes barrel chest isn't caused by any disease or medical condition, but is just a natural physique.

Some people, men especially, are simply born with the genetics and physical characteristics that lead to a barrel chest. A barrel-shaped chest physique is also common in certain populations of people that live at high altitudes , including native peoples in the Andes Mountains and the Himalayas. Researchers suspect that the barrel-shaped rib cage could be an adaptation to cope with the thinner air at high elevations.

Bodybuilders also can develop a barrel-shaped chest by bulking up the muscles in their chest. While this can sometimes look similar to a barrel-shaped chest caused by other medical conditions, it is not a medical concern.

For people who develop a barrel chest due to genetics or exercise, having a barrel chest doesn't require any treatment and is nothing to be concerned about. There are also some very rare genetic disorders that cause some babies to have a barrel chest from birth, as a result of a congenital abnormality in their skeletal structure. Sometimes there is more than one cause behind COPD-related barrel chest.

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Kim V, Criner GJ. Chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The incidence and most common levels of thoracic degenerative disc pathologies. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. Postural defects in children with cystic fibrosis - preliminary report. Dev Period Med. Khan A, Sergi C. Sialidosis: A review of morphology and molecular biology of a rare pediatric disorder. Three cases of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda in one Korean family.

Yonsei Med J. The thoracic cage becomes flattened in the progression of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. Eur Respir Rev. Jones K. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: WB Saunders; Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellHealth.

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What's to know about barrel chest? Medically reviewed by Daniel Murrell, M. Causes Treatment Prevention Takeaway Barrel chest is a condition in which the chest appears to be partially inflated all the time, with the rib cage broadened as if in the middle of a deep breath.

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