The thoracic spine should be able to bend, flex, extend and rotate to varying degrees, but often is the case with athletes and the general public alike, these motions get diminished over. How to improve thoracic spine mobility to alleviate shoulder. This is best done lying on a bed and letting your arms hang over the side. Adding it to your postrun or muscle maintenance routine is a quick, easy way to maintain your thoracic spine. Whilst sitting down, pull your head down and bring your chin closer to your upper chest. Gently attempt to bring that arm to the floor, hold momentarily and return to the start position. If we look at the joint by joint approach, we see that the the cervical and lumbar spine are primarily designated areas of stability sort of, and the thoracic spine is the mobile area of the spine again. Glenohumeral joint instead of the scapulathoracic joint. Open book stretch for thoracic mobility chiropractor in st. If youre experiencing thoracic spine pain, its likely caused by muscle strain due to poor posture, improper lifting, or spending too much time in a seated position. Start the movement by looking back over your shoulder and rotating your top arm towards your backside. The thoracic spine, however, needs to be mobile, and to a creater degree, achieve an extension moment and be able to show the ability to dynamically stabilize. Open book thoracic mobility stretch hawkes physiotherapy.
My top 3 thoracic spine mobility exercises jessephysio. Hold the stretch and try to rotate more open as you hold. This exercise is designed to target the thoracic spine. My top 3 thoracic spine mobility exercises physiospot. One of them is the sidelying thoracic rotation with open book. Begin in side lying position with legs bent and together. Bend to each side while moving your eyes to the side that you are bending.
The thoracic spine region refers to that upper part of your spine that is around the chest evel. Active sidelying thoracic rotation rather than just holding the stretch, rotate your thoracic spine repetitively to increase tissue mobility and neural stimulation to your muscles. The good thing is that you can try several simple stretches to improve mobility and help. Modified worlds greatest stretch thoracic spine extension.
Thoracic and hip mobility flyer midmichigan health. You should aim to do this with them in 45 different positions up the thoracic spine. Clasp your hands behind your head and slowly lean backwards, arching your back over the back of the chair, and hold. The back stretch is one of a number of osteoporosis exercise contraindications and is one of those osteoporosis exercises to avoid. Sean garner, trainer at anatomy 1220 in miami, florida, shows you how to mobilize and open up your upperbody with the openbook stretch. Jan 22, 2019 most experienced coaches know one of the fastest ways to clean up a nagging shoulder, neck, or lowerback problem is to improve midback mobility with targeted thoracic spine exercises. Take the top arm over to the opposite side of the body to the held down knee and rotate the torso to increase the stretch through the tspine area. Poor thoracic mobility may lead to pain in the neck, shoulder, lower back, and hip. Thoracic rotation cross arm sit on a chair and clasp your arms on your chest. This exercise is meant to develop mobility in your thoracic spine, which will help ensure stability and health in both the lumbar spine and the shoulder girdle. Thread the needle in the quadruped position, with your knees under your hips and your hands on under your shoulders, slowly reach one arm under your trunk, allowing your upper body to rotate toward that side. Thoracic spine mobility for rounded shoulders endorphitness.
Bulletproof your shoulders, free program included the. I like this exercise as to provide passive stretch and joint mobility to the spine. Top 12 stretches for thoracic spine new health advisor. The following stretches should be done morning and night. I am constantly trying to address thoracic spine hypomobility. Open books rotational mobilization for the spine active. Thoracic pain and stiffness can be seen anywhere from high level athletes to every day office workers. Before incorporating the following exercises, you should have determined what your clients limitations are from the last blog on how to assess shoulder mobility restrictions. Jul 04, 2017 all my courses no product found with this course no parent course found stretching thoracic spine and rib cage take this course course materials course content lessons status certificate 19 pin and stretch for the.
It also has and this is important exercises you should do if you have osteoporosis based on your activity level and risk of fracture. Working up the spine, today we have 5 exercises to help stretch, mobilise and strengthen the uppermid back region aka the thoracic spine. I mostly use the typical open book technique side lying, top leg flexed with the knee on a medicine ball or foam roll, bottom leg in neutral. Lie on your back and place a pillow under the middle of your abdomen take both arms and raise them so that your hands are above your head. Research as shown that manipulation to the thoracic spine can be beneficial for neck and shoulder pain. Your thoracic spine, which runs from your shoulders to below the chest, is a highly mobile part of your back that helps your torso rotate, flex and extend in various directions. With the right side of your body on the floor and your knees and hips bent at about 90 degrees, bring your palms together and extend your arms in front of your chest. Upper back mobility the openbook stretch is a great way to get mobility into your upper back thoracic spine while stabilizing your low back lumbar. Sean garner, trainer at anatomy 1220 in miami, florida, shows you how to mobilize and open up your upperbody with the open book stretch. In this video, washington, dc based personal trainer and syndicated columnist josef brandenburg shows you how to do the open book. Then dropping your hips down while keeping core engaged to avoid extending the lumbar spine will really stretch out the upper back. To release thoracic spinal rotation tightness and hip tightness. Stretching thoracic spine and rib cage learn muscles. Easy thoracic spine mobility exercises everyone can perform.
This is another example of an ais style stretch, but instead of simply isolating the pec it also hits the external obliques and integrates thoracic rotation. So, thoracic spine mobility for rounded shoulders, stiff back and turtle neck. The low back, or lumbar curve, is made up of five vertebrae, the largest bodied vertebrae of the spine. This is the open book stretch from tpi as demonstrated by dr. Losing mobility in this region can give you restrictions to rotation which can create problems for any athlete who needs to swing, such as in golf or baseball. The best thoracic spine mobility exercises the barbell. Top five thoracic mobility drills to improve your overhead. Modifying gh joint shoulder girdle stretch to joint mobilization of the rib cage and thoracic spine 3. To decrease pain in this region and improve mobility, pts can perform a thoracic manipulation. This is an instructional video to correctly demonstrate open book thoracic mobility stretch. Maintain top knee on the ground to ensure relatively pure thoracic spine rotation. Aim to feel a stretch at the side of your rib cage. This make sup the mid region of the back, and each vertebrae attaches to the ribs, making it very stable and structural supported. Let the arm on the side that you are bending over slide down along.
Bend as far forward as possible whilst making sure to round the. The open book exercise using a foam roller can improve thoracic mobility, decrease low back and mid back pain, and improve posture. Thoracic spine stretch for the upper spine and torso why we lose flexibility and why it matters many of us also have professional lives that require a large amount of time seated at a desk or in a vehicle, putting your muscle in a shorted state for long periods of time. These are designed to reduce tension in the upper back. This is a drill designed to promote mobility throughout the thoracic spine and scapula. Begin by lying on your side, crossing one leg over the other and bending the upper leg to 90 degrees. Before incorporating the following exercises, you should have determined what your clients limitations are from the last blog on how to assess shoulder mobility restrictions the following exercises are designed to address mobility.
And the bottommost curve is comprised of five fused vertebrae in the sacrum followed by four fused vertebrae in the coccyx. Begin sitting upright in a chair with a straight back that goes midway up your back. Most experienced coaches know one of the fastest ways to clean up a nagging shoulder, neck, or lowerback problem is to improve midback mobility with targeted thoracic spine exercises. While inhaling push your shoulders over the edge of the chair, at the same time lean back to straighten the spine. The important point in this movement is to keep the pelvis stable so that the stretch is felt in the midupper back. Improper posture or activities that pull the upper back forward, such as long hours on the computer, can cause the thoracic spine to become tight. The open book stretch thoracic spine mobility by dc personal. The open book stretch works very well for any kind of thoracic or upper torso lack of mobility. No resistance 2 no resistance with pa 1 olympic lifting.
Improve trunk and hip rotation during backswing and follow through. Oct 25, 2017 the book exercise for better bones has a comprehensive list of osteoporosis exercises to avoid or modify with accompanying descriptions and photo illustrations. Research as shown that manipulation to the thoracic spine can be beneficial. Consult your physician before beginning any spinal stretching routine. Incorporate your breath during the movement to intensify the stretch.
Rotate upper body to face opposite side while keeping lower body stable. Mobilize your back, chest, and shoulders with the openbook stretch. Place your elbows, forearms and hands flat on the floor so they are parallel and shoulder distance apart. Rotate the arms like the end of your three part progression. The open book stretch is a good way to keep your back loose and make sure that youre not compromising your running form. If you rotate your thumb and palm up away from the way, you will hit your chest from a different angle than if your palm is facing the wall. Stretches for thoracic paraspinal muscles healthfully. Jan 07, 2019 the open book stretch is a good way to keep your back loose and make sure that youre not compromising your running form.
As your chest loosens, you can hold a light object in your hands and this will increae the stretch. When muscles in your thoracic region become tight and painful, performing certain thoracic spine stretches may help ease your discomfort. For endurance athletes, running and cycling are also very repetitive activities. Open books rotational mobilization for the spine active stretch for various muscles duration. Keeping your knee on a foam roller and your belly button. Gently attempt to bring that arm to the floor, hold. Jim storhok on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Rotate until you feel a good stretch in the chestanterior shoulder and hold. There are two wonderfully effective stretches that can help to increase thoracic spine mobility. We use this stretch with all of our rotational athletes and anyone with.
This variation allows for an intense stretch on the thoracic spine when you anchor the upper body down by grabbing a weight. As you open your arms, you follow your hand with your eyes. The last stretch in the sequence is the open book reach. Pec stretch bring your arm up to a 9090 position and place your shoulder onto a stable surface. Osteoporosis exercises to avoid, exercise contraindications. Aug 18, 2017 sean garner, trainer at anatomy 1220 in miami, florida, shows you how to mobilize and open up your upperbody with the open book stretch. Phillip gamble, chiropractic physician at white oak. Active thoracic mobility open book exercise pro physio youtube. You can open up your chest and shoulder more by changing the direction that your thumb is pointing. Back side to side place your hands on your hips with your feet about as wide as your shoulders. Hold the position for a count of 510 and repeat several times each side. This is brent of the brookbush institute and in this video were going over a very commonly used exercise for lumbar mobilization the open book. Physical therapy for thoracic back pain blue hills sports.
Thoracic spine health your thoracic spine is made up of twelve vertebrae t1t12. Usually overlooked, thoracic spine mobility is of immense importance. This basically applies a quick stretch to the joints of the mid back and helps reset tight muscles, improve joint range of motion, and decrease pain. Breathe in as you move your top arm across your body and turn your head and shoulders with it, keeping your knee firmly placed on the floor. Below it, the 12 thoracic vertebrae form the curve to which the ribs attach. Exercises to improve your thoracic spine mobility the. May 20, 2014 neurophysiological rational aside, getting more rom through the thoracic spine has impact on areas upstream and downstream the body. Try keeping the glutes and abdominal muscles engaged to prevent excessive lordosis and anterior pelvic tilt form occurring low back arching.
The best thoracic spine mobility exercises the barbell physio. Many of the osteoporosis exercises to avoid, covered in this blog, encourage either flexion or rotation or, in some cases, both movements. The open book stretch is a great way to improve your thoracic mobility. Now extend both arms at your side straight away from your body. Were also going to discuss how it could be used for thoracic and sacroiliac joint mobility and maybe a great active stretch for the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, posterior deltoid. Dec 20, 2015 you can open up your chest and shoulder more by changing the direction that your thumb is pointing. Keeping the top knee in contact with a foam roll or ball helps to focus the.