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Lack of Upper Back Mobility May Be Causing Your Shoulder Pain

April 15, 2023
The thoracic spine makes up the upper middle portion of your back and is responsible for most of your spinal rotation. Your thoracic spine moves into flexion (bending forward), extension (arching back or overhead lifting), and rotation (twisting). Adequate mobility in your thoracic spine is essential to optimal function of your neck and shoulders. Since a lot of our daily activities in modern life involve sitting (hello, desk jobs!) our thoracic spines can easily become stiff and immobile.

This lack of mobility transitions to a much harder time lifting weight overhead in CrossFit and eventually leads to compensations of other joints. For example, a Cross Fitter with limited thoracic spine mobility will have to rely on more shoulder range of motion to catch a squat snatch or perform a kipping pull up due to lack of extension in the thoracic spine. This compensation at the shoulders takes a toll on those muscles and may lead to decreased power or increased risk of a pain problem at your shoulder.

The key to improving this movement is to optimize thoracic spine mobility and control so that it can act as a stable base for your shoulders to work on and help you produce power. We want our thoracic spine and shoulders to work efficiently together, not fight each other!

Here is a simple test to look at your thoracic spine mobility:
  1. Sit on a chair or box with feet supported evenly
  2. Hold a PVC on the top of your shoulders with arms crossed
  3. Without moving your hips, rotate your trunk to the right. Then rotate to the left.
You should be able to achieve 45 degrees of rotation to each side. Are you able to achieve that without moving your hips? Does the rotation feel similar side to side? Or is one side much stiffer than the other? Any pain with these movements? If you are unable to achieve full rotation or have a huge difference side to side, thoracic mobility may be something you would benefit from working on! Even more important, if you have pain with these motions a physical therapist can help.

If you are struggling with injury or have a new fitness or performance goal, reach out to us today for a free consultation. Call 314-252-0504 or Contact Us Today for more information on how we can help you live your most active, pain-free life.

At PXM, we firmly believe that the human body is powered by movement and yours is no exception. We help you get out of pain and back to the activities you love with our 3 Step Process:

  1. POWER UP: Diagnose and understand the root cause of your pain.
  2. POWER BOOST: Create a custom plan for you to restore function and get back to doing what you love.
  3. POWER PEAK: Optimize your strength and performance to prevent pain from returning.

Move well and move often!

Dr. Danielle Ivie, DPT, CSCS
Powered by Movement, LLC
567 Hanley Industrial Ct., Brentwood, MO 63144
314-252-0504 | www.poweredxmovement.com

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