Asthma
Chest and neck retractions; which cause muscles within the chest and neck not normally used too much when breathing, to begin contracting as they try and help to take in more air. Retractions are how the body tries to get enough air because of the difficulty in breathing normally because of the asthma attack. These retractions cause the skin of the chest wall, the skin of the neck and or the breastbone (sternum) to move in when breathing. There are different types of retractions which depend on which muscles start contracting, and this depends on how much difficulty a person is having breathing during an attack.