Do you have pain and/or stiffness in upper back region? Try out these simple (but effective) mobility exercises to stretch out the Thoracic Spine.
Release Thoracic Spine
Before you perform the stretches mentioned on this blog post, I recommend releasing the tight muscles in the region first.
Instructions:
- Lie down on the floor.
- Position the area between the spine and shoulder blade on top of a massage ball.
- Apply as much of your body weight on top of the massage ball as comfortably tolerated.
- Make sure to cover the entire area where you experience your upper back pain.
- Do not place any bony areas directly on top of the massage ball.
- Keep your body as relaxed as possible throughout the release.
- Continue for 2-5 minutes.
- Repeat on the other side of the spine.
How To Stretch The Thoracic spine
Which area of the Thoracic Spine would you like to stretch?
(Note: The following stretches may also help to address Hunchback Posture, Scoliosis and Rib Cage Mobility.)
Back Of Thoracic Spine
Generally speaking – I recommend starting stretches to the back of the Thoracic Spine.
This can help decompress this tight region and allow for more movement of the upper to mid back region.
1. Posterior Thoracic Spine Stretch
Instructions:
- Sit down on a chair.
- Bring your head downwards to bring your chin closer to the upper chest region.
- Place your hands behind your head and slowly pull your head further downwards.
- Round the upper back as much as possible.
- Aim to feel a stretch between the shoulder blades.
- Take deep breaths into the area of stretch.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
2. Cat/Cow
Instructions:
- Get into the 4 point kneel position. (Position 1)
- Proceed to round your upper back as much as possible. (Position 2)
- Aim to feel a gentle stretch at the back as you round your spine.
- Return to the starting position.
- Alternate between these positions for 30 repetitions.
- Progression:
- Try to round your upper back one vertebra at a time. (aka Segmental control)
3. Upper Back Decompression
Instructions:
- Start in a standing position.
- Bend over and reach under your toes.
- Lock your finger tips underneath your toes.
- Tuck your chin towards your chest.
- Relax your arms.
- Lean backwards as you round your upper back.
- Take a deep breath in to increase the stretch.
- Hold for 10-30 seconds.
- Note:
- Take care with this stretch if you have lower back issues.
- (If you can’t reach your toes, you can try this exercise whilst sitting on the floor with knees in a slightly bent position.
4. Thoracic Traction
Instructions:
- Hold onto a horizontal bar.
- Drop down into a squat position and allow your body weight to completely hang off your arms.
- Make sure that your feet are gently resting on the floor for support.
- Lean slightly backwards.
- Keep your shoulders and arms as relaxed as possible.
- Nod your chin slightly downwards.
- Round your upper back.
- Aim to feel a stretch in the upper back region.
- Take a deep breath in between the shoulder blades to increase the stretch.
- Hold this position for 30 seconds.
Side Of Thoracic Spine
1. Stretch One Side Of Spine
Instructions:
- Hunch your upper back region forwards.
- Side bend the spine away from the side you would like to stretch.
- Look towards the arm pit.
- Pull your head towards the armpit.
- Aim to feel a stretch on the side of your spine.
- Take a deep breath into the area where you feel the stretch.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
2. Side Stretch
Instructions:
- Assume the position above.
- (The side away from the wall will be targeted.)
- Hold onto a door frame with your hand.
- Whilst anchoring your legs as shown, aim to bend your mid section away from the wall as much as possible.
- Use your body weight to sink into the stretch
- Twist your pelvis away.
- Aim to feel a stretch on the side of your torso.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
For more stretches to the side of the rib cage:
See Post: Latissimus Dorsi Stretches
3. Side Rib Cage Stretch
Instructions:
- Lie on your side whilst leaning on your elbow.
- Sink as much of your body weight into your elbow.
- Whilst keeping your waist pinned down to the ground, push your torso up right.
- Aim to feel a stretch at the side of the Thoracic spine and rib cage.
- Aim to take deep breaths into the area of stretch.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
4. Thoracic Translations
Instructions:
- Sit on the floor as shown above.
- Keep the arm locked straight.
- Lean your body weight into this arm.
- Slide your rib cage towards the side.
- Aim to feel a stretch on the side of the Thoracic spine and rib cage.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
Thoracic Spine Rotation
1. Torso Rotation
Instructions:
- Sit down on a chair.
- Place your hand on the outer side of the opposite knee
- With the other hand, grab onto the back of the chair.
- Rotate your spine. (as to look behind you)
- Oscillate in this position for 30 repetitions.
- Repeat on the other side.
2. Thread The Needle
Instructions:
- Get into the 4 point kneel position.
- Reach your arm underneath you towards the opposite side. (See above)
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 20 times.
- Repeat exercise on the other side.
Thoracic Extension
The following exercises are designed to improve the ability of the Thoracic Spine to extend backwards.
In my opinion – Focus on the other stretches mentioned this blog post to create more space in the Thoracic spine before working on extension.
1. Lower Thoracic Mobility
Instructions:
- Lie down on your stomach.
- Prop your torso up onto your forearms.
- Lift up your torso as high as you can whilst keeping the belly button in contact with the floor.
- Aim to feel tension specifically in the lower part of the Thoracic spine.
- Do not arch backwards too far as you will feel the tension at the base of the lower back.
- Perform 20 repetitions.
2. Thoracic Extension
Instructions:
- Lie down on your back with both knees bent.
- Position a foam roller underneath the middle of your upper back.
- Place your hands behind your head to support the weight of your head.
- Gently push your heel into the floor to apply more body weight into the foam roller.
- Arch your Thoracic Spine over the foam roller.
- Keep your lower ribs down to prevent over arching of the lower back.
- Oscillate in this motion for 30 repetitions.
3. Thoracic Extension Mobility
Instructions:
- Kneel in front of a chair.
- Place the back of your elbows on the seat.
- Keep the elbows close together.
- Keep your shoulder blades pulled backwards throughout this exercise.
- Do not arch your lower back.
- Lower your torso down as low as possible.
- Aim to feel tension in the middle of your back.
- Perform 30 repetitions.
Conclusion
The Thoracic Spine stretches listed in this blog post will help loosen up the upper back region.
Performing the stretches regularly may help reduce pain, decrease stiffness and improve Thoracic Spine mobility.
Remember – It is important to feel a stretch in the specific area that you are targeting.
What to do next
- Any questions?… (Leave me a comment down below.)
- Join me:
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- Start doing the exercises!
Disclaimer: The content presented on this blog post is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. It exists for informational purpose only. Use of the content is at your sole risk. Seek guidance from a health care professional before starting any exercise and/or implementing any recommendation. For more information: Medical Disclaimer.
Hi Mark
3. Side Rib Cage Stretch: When performing this exercise with the leg that hurts at the SI joint on the ground, I bend my hip and bring the upper leg in front of the lower leg. During this movement, a muscle that stretches from the side of the hip towards the sides of the rib cage (I think it’s the oblique abdominal muscles) is stretched. However, when doing the same exercise with the side that doesn’t hurt at the SI joint underneath, there is no such stretch.
Hi Anna,
It likely means that you may be tighter in that region opposite to your painful hip side. Do you have a hip hike?
Mark
Hi Mark,
When doing the upper back relaxation exercise, I need to bend my legs; otherwise, I can’t reach my toes. What should I do?
Hey Brian,
That’s fine. Make sure to feel the stretch in the upper back region.
Mark
Hey Mark I have extremely tight thoracic area. My Spinal erectors are locked and I can’t get them to release. No one can. I’ve tried everything. Any ideas?
Hey Brian,
Performing some of the stretches to the thoracic regions as mentioned on this blog post is a great place to start.
The main thing that you’ll need to find out is exactly WHY the thoracic spine tight.
Here may be some reasons:
– Forward head posture
– Hunch Back Posture
– Flat Thoracic Spine
To get any lasting effects, you’ll need to address the direct cause of the tightness.
Mark
Hey Mark,
Thanks for all the amazing information and routines. I used your guide a while back to correct my rounded shoulders and am back again for issues I’ve been having with the thoracic spine. Long story short I had a concussion in 2018, this led to compression of some of my cervical / thoracic spinal joins. This was mostly corrected but then in August of 2022 I got Covid which seemed to aggravate this area again.
I also began having heart palpitations and panic attacks after the infection. A pain specialist I saw explained that Covid can attack / reactivate old injuries. He treated my spine with dry needling and injections which cleared up my symptoms for a number of weeks. However the symptoms of panic / palpitations are starting to surface again.
I was told that these symptoms are due to irritation of the nerves in my thoracic spine. Is there any recommendation you can make to help with my recovery? Or does this diagnosis make sense, I’d seek further treatment with the specialist but they are quite expensive. Especially if I can tackle this with a strengthening routine like this! I appreciate any advice or feedback you can provide.
Thanks,
Scott
Hey Scott,
Sounds like that thoracic spine is quite compressed to cause the symptoms of palpitations/panic. This could be reflective of being in a parasympathetic state.
I would encourage you to decompress the thoracic spine with the stretches mentioned here. (I find #17 very helpful.)
Taking deep breaths in whilst performing the stretches will make the stretches even more effective. Try to imagine “breathing in between the shoulder blades” to encourage expansion in the upper back region.
In addition to that, make sure you that you have full movement of the thoracic spine.
Can you also check to see if you have flared ribs? See post: FLared ribs.
All the best!
Mark
Thanks for the quick response Mark! Overall rotation feels more constricted on the left side. I have slight limitation when rotating my head to the left shoulder vs the right shoulder. Also when looking over each shoulder it feels as if I’m rotating lower in the spine on the left side to compensate for tightness in the thoracic region. I’ve also noticed since starting this routine that my left pec has gotten very sore along my sternum (not a bad pain – more like DOMS).
I checked the post on flared ribs but I don’t think that is affecting me. I’ll keep working on this routine and try to gain control of individual vertebrae through segmentation exercises.
Thanks again,
Scott
Hi Mark,
I have space in my T10 middle back.
I was playing kabbadi game like wrestling. The oppenent caugth me in back and forced from abdomen to back which my backbone feacture has occured.
Kindly suggest me some exercise for T10 having space.
Thank you,
Kind regards
Said Mohd.
Hi Said,
I am not too sure what you mean by having space in your T10 region.
Do you mean your back was over extended leading to a T10 compression problem?
Mark
Hi
My upper right back is very tight.it has been 1 year I am going through this pain.post pregnancy suddenly I had a severe pain in right hip n buttock .showed to orthopedic n did MRI.I have mild L5 disc bulge…doctor told me it might be due to stress so gave me medication…which gave me some relief. After few days I fell from stairs n hurted my right ankle…after few days I started feeling tightness in my mid back
And it started flaring my upper back. I feel my right leg is shorter than left .feeling numbness in right hand..n some what shorter than left may be due to tightness in my right side..
Is it scoliosis. Cause I feel mild curve in my spine in thoracic region. Please help me as it is getting difficult for me to look after my 1 year baby also..moreover their is always pain in the hip .which exercise would help me..cause I never had this problem before..
Hi Reshma,
Without assessing you specifically, it’s hard to determine the exact cause of your said symptoms.
With new mothers, it’s commonly related to how you are holding your baby. (eg. Do you hold your baby on one hip? Do you always nurse the baby in the same position? Are you co-sleeping with the baby in a certain position etc)
These can place more pressure on certain areas of your body and lead to some of your said symptoms.
If you believe it is related scoliosis (which it can be), check out this post: Scoliosis Exercises.
If you need pain relief in the upper right back, the exercises here might be a good place to start: Rhomboid Muscle Pain.
If the pain in the hip is on the side, I am guessing it could be bursitis. (See post: Hip Bursitis Exercises)
Mark
These stretches are fabulous. Thank you for all that you share. Most appreciated.
Thanks for leaving me a comment, Michelle,
All the best!
Mark
Hello Mark,
Recently, I did an MRI and the result says disc desiccation and mild disc space narrowing at T6-T10, no focal disc herniation is identified. I’m still in my mid 30s, so you can imagine my concern. Would the exercises you’ve shown at the top help me?
Thanks you.
Kemmy
Hi Kemmy,
Did the MRI mentioned that the narrowing is more anterior or posterior?
If it is more anterior, this could be related to thoracic kyphosis.
The stretches mentioned on this blog post will likely help, but it sounds like you will need to do specific exercises to address your posture as well.
Mark
We originally commented on twisted spine however Im not sure it’s working so I’ll try here..
Hi Mark,
My husband would like to know, where it says “aim to rotate in the area where your rotation is originating from” he is rotated from the very bottom, everything is twisted, he has already done this before for a month and a half giving himself a bad shoulder impingement have about gotten the shoulder back in place and straightened out the neck and had caught the twisted torso muscles tightening up severely. Lateral tilt muscles tightened up pretty good and twisted pelvis not so much. The psoas muscle seems to have tightened up. So question is the first time around he started the rotation at the base and rotated all the way up the spine seems this time he is thinking he should start the rotation at the base and only go up above the belt line vs all the way up the spine because the upper part seems ok because he has done rounded shoulders, hunched posture, uneven shoulders, and some shoulder impingement work along with the neck he had mentioned, and the dowingers hump, flared ribs, and lumbar lordosis that he is doing now. Also after three days of the twisted torso and lateral tilt everything is loosening back up fine.
Thank you for your time,
Doug and Tanya
Hi Doug and Tanya,
Generally speaking – I would address the rotation from the bottom to top.
Addressing the rotation further down may automatically improve the top.
Mark
Hi Marc, great stretch postures.
I have problems with my thoracic spine from 1st to 7th vertebra, the whole area is painful and when I roll it out with a 10 cm yoga ball it’s like cutting the muscles off. It frequently causes light to serious extra systoles (up to every 2nd heart beat “missing” over hours or even days – scary) and I’m tired of it. Despite training like calisthenics and yoga I don’t get it under control (and still stay on a BMI of 30 – I’m 60 years old and damaged my spine and joints through excessive competition training until age 40, including a C5-C6 protrusion).
I’m living in China, no good physio-therapists found until now. So need to find something what I can do myself. Any ideas?
Thankful for any input which can help me fix the problem.
Hi Tom,
The thoracic spine is believed to be able to influence the sympathetic nervous system. This in turn can affect the heart beat.
If rolling your back into extension is painful, perhaps you need to focus more on stretching into flexion and rotation. See how that goes.
Mark
Oh am I struggling to get rid of the pain in my Thorasic spine. I hope and know your stretches WILL be the answers to help me once in for all. One question. When you say oscillate 30 reps oscillate in #12& #14 stretches, do you mean “hover” over a Thorasic spine area and move up and or down, oscillating for seconds instead! IF I’m I’m oscillating, hovering, for how long. 5 secs and move on but 30 x. Thank you. Great stretches.
Hey Richard,
Oscillate means to rhythmically bounce at the end end range of the stretch. This should help mobilize the joints in the target area. (Think about how people open/close a door repetitively when they are trying to loosen up a rusty door hinge)
Mark
Do you have alternative stretches for Serratus anterior cuz that one tends to bother me?
Hi Andrea,
You can stretch out the Serratus Anterior by doing the standard chest stretch against a wall.
Focus on pulling the shoulders back.
Mark
Hi Mark,
After a lumbar fusion surgery in 2010, I had a neuro stim device placed to help with chronic pain. Unfortunately the device did not work and upon removal, most of the vertebrae at T 4 was removed along with the cutting of the muscles around that vertebrae in order for the surgeon to remove the device which has left a large divot in my back and constant muscle pain there. I was told I needed to work on strengthening the muscles around the thoracic spine but have no idea what to do. Are the exercises above appropriate for my condition? Thank you!
Hey there Laural,
The exercises mentioned here will help with reclaiming movement in the thoracic spine.
As with any exercise that you do, it is important to make sure that you do not push into any pain.
Do you have a rounded upper back? If so, you might benefit from some of these exercises: Hunchback posture
Mark
Hi mark,
Over the past 2 years I’ve been having trouble with my thoracic. I feel like my T1-4 area is all out of whack in that I feel like that area is misaligned (When I run my fingers down the vertebrae it’s not a straight line) as I can feel 1-2 of my ribs pressing against me when I breathe. The T2-4 area is also frozen. I’ve tried physio and chiro for a long time and so far not working. What’s your suggestion here? Should I do more face pulls and stretch the pec minor (since it attaches to rib 3-5)?
Hey Kevin,
If there is a lateral tilt between t1-4, you may have a degree of scoliosis there. Check out this post: Scoliosis Exercises.
Is this area flat? If so, check out the Thoracic spine section in this post: Flat back posture.
Pec minor stretches and face pulls might work, but I would need to do a full assessment to see exactly what is happening.
Mark
Great info. Thank you very much for taking the time to put this together, it’s helping me.
Hi Mark,
Will I be okay to do the above exercises?
I have cervical dystonia but my whole thoratic area feels twisted.
Kind regards
Julie
Hey Julie,
It is fine to do. Just make sure you go gentle to begin with and pay attention to how your body responds.
Do not push into any pain or discomfort.
If in doubt, definitely consult a health professional before commencing any exercises.
Mark
Hi Mark!
im doing a personal training course and i have some doubt about the folowing question, can you answer that for me please?
If a client has a hyper-kyphotic posture due to tight chest and latissimus dorsi muscles and weak upper back muscles, what resistance training/core stability and flexibility exercises would you recommend?
a. Resistance training/core stability:
b. Flexibility:
Thank you
Hey Nuno,
I don’t want to be doing your course for you (haha), but here is a blog post that will probably answer all of your questions:
How to fix Thoracic Hyperkyphosis.
Mark