Valsalva maneuver - sore glottis or trachea?

[SociallyChallenged]

I typically use the Valsalva maneuver while squatting and deadlifting like most people. However, I had to really close up tight yesterday and push hard against my glottis while squatting heavy. Today, I woke up and it feels like my lungs (top of my lungs, most likely part of my trachea) have a dull throb to them. I looked up potential damage via the Valsalva maneuver and it doesn't really mention the possibility of hurting the glottis. Can anybody find something on this or give me their personal experience? It feels distinctly different from illness and feels almost like light bruising toward the top of my lungs if that makes any sense. Opinions are appreciated.

+SC

 

[presidentender]

It seems possible, but some quick googling reveals nothing useful (the most legitimate risk seems to be eye pressure, and here's stronglifts on that), and I've never heard anyone mention it. There's a chance you're just getting sick.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: presidentender
It seems possible, but some quick googling reveals nothing useful (the most legitimate risk seems to be eye pressure, and here's stronglifts on that), and I've never heard anyone mention it. There's a chance you're just getting sick.

I've had bronchitis bordering on pleurisy. I've had normal congestion, severe congestion, etc. Right now I have no phlegm, no fluid, no nothing. Trust me, I did the whole self-eval thing. However, physiologically this seems like a valid concern. Putting a great deal of force on a glottis the opposite way (depending on what the force is compared to the force to damage the glottis is) could be damaging. The thing is - can the Valsalva maneuver create this much force?

 

[presidentender]

It can burst capillaries, especially in the head. World-record bench press can result in one scary-looking bloody-faced dude. So there's a lot of pressure there. The question is whether that pressure is applied to the area you're talking about, and causes that type of damage.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: presidentender
It can burst capillaries, especially in the head. World-record bench press can result in one scary-looking bloody-faced dude. So there's a lot of pressure there. The question is whether that pressure is applied to the area you're talking about, and causes that type of damage.

Well, burst capillaries results in hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging results in hematoma. Hematoma = bruise. Bruising is the feeling I feel toward the top of my airways.

 

[presidentender]

My initial thought was that you'd expect to see bruising elsewhere, or burst blood vessels in the whites of your eyes, cf bench press. But your head is probably higher than the rest of your body during a deadlift or a squat, so it's entirely possible that you'll see bruising elsewhere. If that is the case, I'm mildly surprised that you're not seeing it elsewhere, but it's not unreasonable.

 

[brikis98]

The pressure during a heavy squat with the VM can be pretty huge and cause all sorts of weird things to happen. I've never heard of throat pain in particular, but I suppose it's possible. Personally, when I use the VM and lift heavy, I feel lots of pressure generally through out my head and body, but nothing localized to the throat. My understanding of the VM is as follows:

1. Take a very large, deep breath that fills your stomach. That is, if your shoulders rise as a result, you're doing it wrong: instead, you should see your stomach expand.
2. Exhale hard, but close your throat to prevent the air from getting out. This should cause you to seriously tighten the abs and will increase pressure through out the body.
3. Once tightness and pressure have been achieved, you should continue to hold your breath, but you don't need to be forcibly exhaling any more. In fact, as you perform some lifts (esp cleans & snatches), you'll actually need to allow some air to escape to maintain the proper pressure - this is the loud hissing sound and/or grunt you hear from many o-lifters.
4. Do the rep of whatever lift, exhale, and repeat.

Are you ignoring step 3 and forcibly exhaling for the duration of the lift? If so, that might explain why you have the throat pain as a result.

 

[bobsmith1492]

I think I know what you're describing. I've felt it before when blowing out really hard (marshmallow guns, to be specific...). If you are exhaling extremely hard without letting out the air it can "stretch" out part of your throat.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: brikis98
The pressure during a heavy squat with the VM can be pretty huge and cause all sorts of weird things to happen. I've never heard of throat pain in particular, but I suppose it's possible. Personally, when I use the VM and lift heavy, I feel lots of pressure generally through out my head and body, but nothing localized to the throat. My understanding of the VM is as follows:

1. Take a very large, deep breath that fills your stomach. That is, if your shoulders rise as a result, you're doing it wrong: instead, you should see your stomach expand.
2. Exhale hard, but close your throat to prevent the air from getting out. This should cause you to seriously tighten the abs and will increase pressure through out the body.
3. Once tightness and pressure have been achieved, you should continue to hold your breath, but you don't need to be forcibly exhaling any more. In fact, as you perform some lifts (esp cleans & snatches), you'll actually need to allow some air to escape to maintain the proper pressure - this is the loud hissing sound and/or grunt you hear from many o-lifters.
4. Do the rep of whatever lift, exhale, and repeat.

Are you ignoring step 3 and forcibly exhaling for the duration of the lift? If so, that might explain why you have the throat pain as a result.

Definitely not ignoring step 3. I don't exhale, but grunt and let air out as part of the natural movement. It feels very right when this happens and it just seems to be natural. I'm not anti-noise-making when I lift so I definitely let the air come out.

 

[Koing]

Never heard anyone experience it like you have described.

Koing