paralyzed diaphragm

[Calhoun410]

I'm a very active 56 year old person, who played 4 games of softball,lifted weights 4 days a week and jogged on the treadmill for 20 minutes twice a week. Now out of nowhere I have a paralyzed diaphragm. My neuoligest said it was caused from a virus to my phrenic nerve. He said it could come back in about 1 year to 18 months. Can you tell me any exercise I can do to help me breathe better so I can at least walk fast for a period  of time. Is it possible some of my smaller muscle groups help me breathe so maybe I could possible jog? Thank you. " very frustrated "

[National Jewish Health]

I am sorry to hear of your travails.  The mechanism that leads to phrenic nerve injury and its potential to recover remains elusive.  There is hope for spontaneous recovery, however, as suggested by your neurologist, recovery and the time required for recovery varies significantly and, in many instances, never occurs.  Unfortunately, there are no specific exercises of the accessory muscles of respiration that have proven to be of value in this situation.

The generally accepted recommendation is that one wait at least 18 months before considering surgical intervention with a procedure called diaphragm plication.  In the meantime, the best thing you can do is to continue to exercise, to the current limit of your ability, both to remain fit, with your muscles better able to take up oxygen from your blood and, in the process of exercise, bring your accessory muscles of respiration, which are mostly chest and neck muscles, into play to increase their strength and endurance.  Exercises that require breathing against resistance, for the same purpose, have been utilized in a number of medical studies, with mixed and generally disappointing results.

Good luck.

[Calhoun410]

Thank you for responding, I'll take your advice and keep working on the smaller muscle groups to get stronger. Staying fit as you can means so much when you run into a problem such as this. Thanks again!