Name: Playbook - Dr. Caleb Burgess - Thoracic Mobility - Level 1
Uploaded: 2024-04-19T04:48:15.025Z
Duration: 15 min
Description: Thoracic Mobility - Level 1

Leslie

All the information  is greatly appreciated, it will be very useful for my work !
Grettings from Patagonia, Chile.

Pía

Voice overs so don’t have to look at screen :)

jade

Great set of intro exercises, looking forward to getting loosened up further!

Mawgan Wilkins

The thoracic mobility routines are great for taking breaks during my work day.

This is a beginner level routine (Level 1) to help improve thoracic spine (upper back) mobility.

Movement in the thoracic spine is often limited and not performed often enough on a day to day basis for most people, so improving mobility here can not only help to decrease discomfort in the area itself, but also for more optimal movement of the neck (cervical spine), lower back (lumbar spine), and shoulder girdle (shoulders and shoulder blades), as all of these areas connect either above or below the thoracic spine.

- Hold 3 sec per rep

Set up:
- Place small rubber ball, yoga block, towel roll (placed vertically), etc at back of chair starting at the lower part of the mid-upper back (thoracic spine, where the ribs attach)
- Scoot back into chair and clasp your hands behind your neck/head with your elbows close together in front, as shown

Movement:
- Tighten your stomach muscles, then lean back over the ball/wedge while pushing back into the ball to mobilize that area
- DO NOT let your lower back arch too much (keep your stomach tight) or else you will minimize the effectiveness of the movement at the region of the ball/wedge, which is where we want to isolate the most movement (not the lower back)
- Perform for prescribed repetitions and then slide slightly forward in the chair to target a higher segment on your spine
- Ideally you can do this in 3 spots along your thoracic spine (upper/mid back)

Progressions:
- Flaring your elbows out can give an added stretch to the chest

Seated Thoracic Spine Extension over Small Ball in Chair

- Hold 5 sec at the top of each rep

Set up:
- Sit up tall

Movement:
- Lift your chest up while pushing your fingers up toward the ceiling and get as tall as you can (make your arms as long as you can)
- Hold for the prescribed time for each rep

Seated Overhead Reaches for Thoracic Spine Extension

- Hold 5 sec per rep
- Rest as needed between sides

Set up:
- Lay on your side with your head supported by a pillow
- Your top arm hand should rest on your stomach and your bottom arm hand should hold down on the outside of the top thigh near the knee

Movement:
- Slowly rotate the top shoulder backward and down toward the ground as far as you can to feel a stretch in the middle to upper back
- Make sure to rotate your head and look in that direction to get the most out of the movement

Tips:
- The bottom hands is meant to "tack down" the thighs in place so that the pelvis does not rotate backward with the upper trunk, as this would diminish the effectiveness of the movement
- If you have neck or upper back irritation with the neck movement, try limited neck movement and focus more rotating the shoulder and upper back down toward the ground

Sidelying Thoracic Spine Rotation - Hand on Stomach

- Hold 3 sec per rep

Set up:
- Place your hands directly underneath your shoulders and sit back a bit so that your hips are behind your knees when looking from the side

Movement:
- Slowly push your upper back that is between the shoulder blades up toward the sky and round your upper back as much as possible
- You can also tuck your chin toward your chest while this happens for an even greater stretch
- Hold for the prescribed time, and then return to the start position
- Only work within the range of motion that is tolerable to you...don't push into worsening pain/discomfort

Tips:
- Sometimes it may start with feeling tight and uncomfortable and then improve with increased reps (if this is the case, it's okay to push through some discomfort at the beginning)

Thoracic Mobility - Level 1

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