The thoracic spine is located between your neck (cervical spine) and your lower back (lumbar spine). It consists of 12 vertebral segments that also attach to your ribs and provide protection for many of your vital organs including the heart and lungs.
A Pain in the neck and lower back…
Having proper thoracic mobility is a huge player in the quality of your everyday life! Because of the hugely interdependent relationship that the thoracic spine has with the cervical and lumbar spine, if you do not have enough motion in this area, the nervous system will depend more heavily on the upper and lower spine to make up for that motion. This lack of thoracic mobility can then be a contributor to both neck and/or lower back pain.
What about breathing?
Because the thoracic spine also attaches to the ribs, limited movement in this area can even affect your breathing! When we take an inhale, the thoracic spine expands allowing the ribs to move and creates more room for the lungs to bring in air. If the thoracic spine is not moving adequately, the ability of the ribs to expand is limited thereby decreasing the amount of air that can fill the lungs.
What can you do about it? The following exercises will help to increase your thoracic spine mobility getting you moving and feeling great again!
*Pay special attention to the final rotation exercises. By coming down on the knees in a child-pose like position, the lumbar spine is locked preventing rotation and ensuring the rotation is coming from the thoracic spine