The ribcage is a huge part of anatomy that tends to be ignored, especially when treating low back pain.
Our ribcage is thought of as a steel cage that isn’t supposed to be very mobile, however, our ribcage is meant to be very mobile! Ribs attach to the front of our body on the sternum and are long levers that wrap all they way back to our vertebrae.
Think of the handle bars on a bike – where the handle bars go, the rest of the bike will follow – same for the spine! Our ribs steer the direction of the spine, so proper rib mobility is crucial for our spine health.
At Thrive, we teach proper respiration techniques coupled with the training of your obliques to keep your ribcage in an optimal position and prevent low back pain.
In a lot of cases, low back pain is due to an immobile ribcage and causes a lot of compensatory movement in your spine and can lead to ruptured discs and excessive muscle tightness.
Your obliques are attached to your lower 8 ribs, which take up more than half of your ribcage! Ensuring that your obliques are properly strengthened in biomechanically sound positions will promote proper ribcage mobility, therefore eliminating excessive stress on your spine.
Thriving Magazine • Issue 17
Our winter issue showcases the many ways we can trade expectation for appreciation, and how gratitude can be a strong catalyst to better health.Enjoy!
Articles are written by our experts in physical therapy, fitness training, chiropractic care. nutrition, massage, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and energy healing.
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