Blog article

The thoracic spine off which the ribs hang, plus the breastbone are great influencers on the functioning of the shoulders/neck and lumbar spine. The ribs go from just above your collar bone down to just above the waiste. So we need to:

• Improve mobility in the area
• And improve posture.

to reduce shoulder, neck and lower back issues.

So how do you know if the thoracic spine is stiff? How far should it move?

1. The greatest rotation occurs from rib 1 to rib 9 ( from just above the collar bone to just below the tip of the shoulder blade) of 35-50 degrees.
2. The greatest flexion/.extension( forwards and  backwards)  occurs from rib 10 to lumbar bone1 of 20-45 degrees. 
3. The greatest leaning sideways also occurs at T10- L1 of 20 -45 degrees.  

So what do your symptoms suggest you may have?

• Sharp and specific pain- from the joints and facet joints
• Deep ache/ vague ache - Tight muscles, fascia and trigger poiunts
• Worse taking a deep breath - costa-vertebral joint issues( where ribs join the spine).
• Constant tightness/ fatigue - postural issues
• Neural - Pain radiating around the ribs

This just gives you some ideas of where your pain could be coming from. 

So to improve mobility in the area and thus help your neck, shoulders and lower back, massage can help loosen the muscles around the ribs and improve posture and mobility through exercises. 

Exercises you may know and may be doing are as follows:

1. Child pose straight forwards but also to the side, 10 secs each side
2. Stars on the floor, 20 secs each side .
3. Twists on the wall, 20 secs each side 
4. A lumbar roll placed down the thoracic spine with arms outstretched for 30 secs.

If you feel your mid back needs some loosening up and want some exercises to help please give me a call.

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