Announcement!!! There will be a PALEO DESSERT EXCHANGE during the last competition WOD at the Summer Smackdown on September 8th. We have done this before and it’s a fun way to share ideas on how to help satisfy the sweet cravings that we have while still being Paleo … not like the container of sea salt carmel gelato I just devoured while writing this post :/ So bring whatever you want and we can compile the recipes into an e-mail after the event. And most importantly, come cheer on the athletes!!!
I know I’ve stressed the importance of the thoracic spine, but I wanted to spend an entire post focusing on this area of the spine (as requested by Miss Scarlett:). It’s important to understand that although the spine is connected and usually grouped as one body part, it is really made up of multiple segments that all move differently and serve different function. The vertebrae the make up the thoracic spine are different than those that make up the lumbar spine, and same goes for the cervical spine. For more background on the spine in general, check out the back page of learn yourself.
The thoracic spine, aka T-spine, is an area of the body that seems to be overlooked when we think of taking care of our body. Why is that? I’m not really sure! Maybe because most people are so stiff that it feels almost impossible to loosen up this area? (aka stiff link). All I know is that I feel a lot better when I spend some time working on my T-spine, and end up fixing a lot of injuries after working on the T-spine.
Reasons why you should give more love to your T-spine:
Look at all those things inside your rib cage that your T-spine is protecting!
- It’s houses some of our most important organs! The T-spine connects to the rib cage and helps to support these vital organs.
- It needs to move in order for other parts of our body to move correctly (i.e. shoulders, neck, low back)
- It suffers the most when we sit all day with poor posture (also known as thoracic kyphosis)
- It serves as another shock absorber for our body during impact activities (walking, running, jumping, etc.). So if it’s stiff, more stress is put on other areas of our body.
The thoracic spine is actually the least mobile of all the parts of the spine because it is meant to protect the contents that it surrounds (i.e. lungs, heart, liver, etc.) But just because it’s not as mobile as the other parts, doesn’t mean that maintaining mobility isn’t important!
Just to give a little background, I want to give you the normal degrees of movement that the T-spine should move: (Neumann 2002)
*keep in mind that these are general ranges depending on body type and lifestyle
So you can see the connection of the ribs to the T-spine
- Flexion (bending forward): 30-40 degrees
- Extension (bending backward): 20-25 degrees
- Rotation: 30 degrees
- Sidebend: 25 degrees
So basically not a lot of movement. To put it in perspective, the elbow moves through 150 degrees and the shoulder moves through 180 degrees. BUT if the T-spine doesn’t have the mobility stated above (or something close) other areas of the body must move more than they should in order to compensate. So people usually either have the thoracic kyphosis (rounded upper back) or flat thoracic spine. Both of these place unnecessary stress on the T-spine, with normal positioning being slight kyphosis (see picture below).
Here are some of my favorite things to help open up the T-spine!
He has 2 tennis/lacrosse balls taped together underneath his upper back. This is a little more specific and can be more aggressive than using the foam roller.
You can also rock side to side
The most important thing about these stretches is that you focus on breathing into your ribcage and actually expanding your lungs. This is what will actually give you a good, deep stretch of the T-spine. It’s actually common for people with stiff thoracic spines to also have difficulty breathing. So practice!! Just lay on your back, put your hands on the front of your rib cage and practice breathing into your hands. Try to breathe in and out through your nose…. I just learned in yoga last week that you get more oxygen to the brain this way!
Reference: Donald A. Neumann. Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System. 2002. Pg 251-310.
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