Thoracic Spine Extension
Directions:
» Begin by sitting upright in a chair with your buttocks and upper back touching the chair.
» Clasp your hands behind your neck.
» Slowly begin to extend your upper spine by lifting elbows upwards toward the ceiling as far as possible. Be sure to maintain contact with the chair.
» Return to the starting position.
» Move further into end range with each repeated extension.
Here are some responses to look out for:
If you have local thoracic spine pain only:
» After performing the movement, if your pain increases and remains worse for more than 15 minutes, stop performing this exercise and contact your medical office for advice.
If the exercises improve your rib symptoms, but your local pain increases as a result:
» Keep going! This result is termed centralization and is strongly correlated with an excellent outcome!
If the exercises begin to produce symptoms in the rib or chest wall, or increase in those that are already present:
» Stop performing these exercises and contact your medical office to speak with the Health Coach. This is termed peripheralization.
