Why is Thoracic Spine Mobility Important?

The thoracic spine is the middle section of your spine, underneath the cervical spine (your neck) and above the lumbar spine (the low back).  It is made of up 12 vertebral segments and has rib attachments. It plays an important role in protecting your lungs and heart by attaching to the ribcage.  We need this area to move for optimal function, posture, to play sports, and breathe.  This area should be able to flex, extend, side bend, and rotate. 

If we don’t use this area it will get stiff!  Bad posture, movement compensations from painful joints like shoulder, neck, and low back pain, or shallow breathing patterns can contribute to mobility loss.  Stiff ribs, stiff thoracic spine, or slouched posture can affect our ability to take a deep breathe.  This can affect our sport performance and further affect our posture/function. Forward head posture, dowanger hump (hump at base of your neck), or increased thoracic kyphosis (rounding of your mid back area) can also affect thoracic mobility.

How can we keep our thoracic mobility?  Joint mobilizations from qualified professionals (physical therapist, chiropractor, osteopath), massage, fascial mobilizations, cupping (myofascial decompression), or instrument assisted mobilizations (graston, gua sha tools) can be hugely helpful.  Self options include stretches, foam roller use, lacrosse ball self mobilizations, or yoga poses can also be very beneficial.  

Our favorite Thoracic Stretches and self treatments:

1. Hands and knees thoracic rotation

   1. Shoulders lined up with wrists, hips lined up with knees in hands and knees position (quadruped position).  Take one arm and place it behind your head, while the other hand is on the ground. Inhale while you are rotating your hand behind your head towards the ceiling.  Then slowly bring the arm back to starting position with exhale. Perform on both sides.

2. Cat/Cow

   1. Same position as above on hands and knees.  Inhale and arch your back while looking up to the ceiling, exhale while drawing your belly in rounding your back and tucking chin to chest. 

3. Open books

   1. Lying on your side.  Straighten arms and stack on top of each other.  Inhale as you reach the top arm to the opposite side, opening the chest and rotating your thoracic spine.  Exhale as you close your arm back to  the starting position.  

4. Foam roller thoracic mobilization

   1. Lying on your back with foam roller on your mid back with hands supporting your neck.  Keep hips on ground and back flat.  Gently arch back over foam roller with upper body/head lengthening to avoid going straight back over foam roller.  Can perform multiple times at each thoracic spinal segment that feels tight.  

None of these exercises should be painful.  It is always a good idea to get fully assessed by a qualified medical professional to find a safe and appropriate program for your specific needs.  This is not medical advice, please consult your qualified medical professional for questions specific to your case. These are just examples of exercises that may help.