Thoracic Spine Mobility
Quickly measure and calculate Thoracic Spine Mobility Movement Assessment
Your thoracic spine runs from the base of the neck down to the abdomen and is the only part of your spine that connects to the rib cage. This assessment is important because poor thoracic spine mobility can affect the range of motion throughout you shoulders, neck, lower back, and hips during exercise. Sufficient Thoracic Spine Mobility is needed to avoid poor form and potential injury during exercise.
Thoracic Spine Mobility Protocol
Purpose
Detect observable muscular deviations related to overactive and underactive skeletal muscle.
Equipment
Chair, PVC, and yoga block
Procedure
- Begin by instructing the participant to sit up right in a firm chair. Make sure that they are positioned to the front of the chair so their back does not not the backrest.
- Hand your subject the yoga block to place between their legs.
- Place the PVC on their upper trapezius and instruct the participant to hold on to each end in a back squat rack position.
- Instruct the subject to maintain symmetrical posture while squeezing the yoga block with hips and then rotate left to end-range of motion as well as rotate right to end-range of motion.
- Repeat three times on each side while observing if the subject can reach 45º as well as if one side is more mobile than the other.
Thoracic Spine Mobility Calculation
Calculation Result
Corrective Exercises
MYOFASCIAL RELEASE | FLEXIBILITY | ACTIVATION |
Muscular Imbalance
UNDERACTIVE | OVERACTIVE |