Top 5 Thoracic Spine Mobility Exercises — Key Takeaways
Move slowly and deliberately through each thoracic drill — fast reps shift motion to your most mobile spinal segments (usually lumbar or upper thoracic), defeating the purpose of the exercise.
Key takeaways
Segmental cat camel: extend one vertebra at a time, not all at once
Segmental cat camel: extend one vertebra at a time, not all at once
- Visualize lifting belly button, lower ribs, upper ribs, nipple region, then upper chest sequentially
- Fast cat camels only move the most mobile segments — for the coach, that's lumbar and mid-back, not the stiff areas
Brace abs and flex top hip 90° to block lower back in rotation drill
Brace abs and flex top hip 90° to block lower back in rotation drill
- Flexing the top hip to 90° minimizes unwanted lumbar rotation and extension during sideline thoracic work
- Keeping the knee on the foam roller is a telltale sign the lower back is doing too much movement
Gaze at a fixed point above to unlock extra thoracic rotation
Gaze at a fixed point above to unlock extra thoracic rotation
- Looking slightly up forces the upper back to follow, adding range in the sideline rotation drill
- Feel the upper back follow the direction of the neck to increase rotation a bit more
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In this video
- 1mSideline Thoracic Extension and Rotation Drill
- 2mKneeling Thoracic Rotation Drill
- 3mSegmental Cat Camel for Thoracic Mobility
- 6mProne Thoracic Extension Drill
- 7mFoam Roller Thoracic Mobilization
- 10mFoam Roller Finisher and Closing
“Going too quickly and without purpose is the most common thing that people do when they're trying to mobilize their thoracic spine.”
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