Advanced Ribcage Foam Rolling Strategies – iRunFar

Forget everything you know about thoracic spine foam rolling. Yes, it feels good — or bad — and helps the ribcage. And yes, it also helps to improve mobility (1) and relieve pain (2) in the neck and lower back.

But you may not know that rolling the ribcage could be the key to unlocking the most stubborn shoulder and hip stiffness and improving nervous system mobility.

Ribcage Secrets

Besides carrying vital organs, the ribcage plays a huge role in our ability to run. It connects the arms and legs, combining energy for maximal propulsion. It makes that connection with both orthopedic tissues — muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments. But perhaps more notably, it connects the whole body via fascia.

Like the suspension cabling of a bridge, this thoracic fascia allows propulsive energy to transfer from the arms into the legs. It also maintains our trunk and hip stability when landing and pushing off.

Thus, when the thoracic spine and ribcage complex get stiff, that fascia may subversively but profoundly restrict motion in both the upper body at the shoulder and the lower body at the hip.

Clinically and athletically, I have promoted thoracic spine foam rolling for many years, with recommendations here and here. However, those strategies have focused mainly on the back of the ribcage and extension. But what about rolling the sides of the ribcage? And what about working on lower trunk rotation mobility, a key running movement?

Focusing on those areas has improved functional motion in my running clients and helped resolve the most stubborn shoulder, lower back, hip, and nerve mobility restrictions.

Ribcage foam rolling can relieve stubborn upper body restrictions and get you back running in peak condition. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi

Pre-Treatment Mobility Testing

To determine the efficacy, try the following mobility pre-tests:

• Shoulder flexion: Raise a straight arm overhead, next to your ear.
• Low back flexion and hamstring (sciatic nerve): Stand with straight knees and flex down toward your toes. Or, sitting with legs long in front of you, flex forward toward your toes.
• Hip flexion and extension: Perform a runner’s lunge stretch with one foot on a chair and the other leg straight behind.

Advanced Ribcage Foam Rolling Strategies Precautions

These advanced strategies should be avoided in the following groups: a diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis, acute low back pain and/or lumbar spine sensitivity, and joint and connective tissue hypermobility conditions. Please consult with a licensed medical professional before performing these or any exercise programs to ensure they are appropriate for you and your body.

1. Lateral Ribcage Rolling

Set-up

• Gear: Obtain a medium-density foam roller. Too firm may be too painful and result in guarding; too soft may result in inadequate mobilization force. The length should be at least 12 inches.
• Position and placement: Lying on your side, position your body so the lateral ribs are on top of the roller, which is positioned beneath the armpit. The roller can be placed anywhere from the armpit (the uppermost ribs) to the last full ribs, just below the nipple line (the level of the diaphragm muscle). Avoid lying on the floating ribs at the very bottom of the ribcage.

The author demonstrating lateral ribcage rolling. Photo: Joe Uhan

To Perform

• Vertical rolling: Roll the lateral ribcage up and down on the roller from the armpit to the lower non-floating ribs at the diaphragm level.
• Pin and breathe: Select a rib level, ranging from the armpit to the diaphragm. Let body weight sink into the roller while breathing deeply and slowly.
• Rotate: To adjust the force direction, rotate the ribcage on the roller. Opening toward the ceiling puts more force on the posterior ribs, while rolling closed toward the floor puts force on the anterior ribs.

Sets and Repetitions

Perform the pin and rotation mobilization at multiple levels for 30 to 90-plus seconds or as tolerated.

[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]

2. Lower Ribcage Rotation

Set-up

• Gear: Obtain a medium-density foam roller. The ideal length is 18 to 36 inches.
• Position and placement: Lie on your back on the roller, with the pelvis on the ground, knees flexed, and feet flat. The head and neck are supported in your hands, and the spine should remain neutral, neither flexing upward, nor extending over the roller. The roller should be positioned horizontally, along the lower thoracic spine, at the bottom of the ribcage.

An overhead view of lower ribcage rotation. Photo: Joe Uhan

To Perform

• Slow rotations: Allow both knees to slowly rotate toward the ground in the same direction. Relax the legs. Hold one to two breaths, then return to midline. Repeat the opposite side.

Sets and Repetitions

Whichever side moves less, or feels stiffer, hold for longer and/or perform more repetitions. Perform 30 to 90-plus seconds or as tolerated.

Post-Treatment Testing

Retest your pre-test motions. The larger the change in motion, the more relevant ribcage rolling may be!

How it (May) Work

I theorize the mobility improvements come from one or more of three areas:

• Thoracic orthopedics: Rolling on the muscles, tendons, bones, and connective tissues of the ribcage improves local mobility, affecting the alignment and mobility of the upper and lower body.
• External fascia: Rolling the lateral and lower ribcage mobilizes external fascia, namely the thoracodorsal fascia, which runs along the back and sides of the ribcage. This is a major fascial system that crisscrosses the trunk, connecting hips to shoulders. Freeing this fascia anywhere along its length may restore motion at either or both ends.
• Internal fascia: The most intriguing, prolonged deep pressure of the body on the foam roller mobilizes the fascia just inside the ribcage (endothoracic fascia) and surrounding the lungs (the visceral and pleural fascia). The endothoracic fascia, in particular, is continuous with the fascia of the diaphragm, belly, and pelvis.

Conclusion

Mobilizing the thoracic spine does much more than just moving ribs. It can affect motion in the whole body. If you have stubborn mobility loss in either the shoulders, low back, hips, or hamstrings, give this multi-dimensional ribcage roll a try.

Call for Comments

• Do you foam roll your ribcage? Do you also find it beneficial?
• Did you give this a try? Tell us how it went.

References/Notes

1. Nakamaru, K. “Immediate effects of thoracic spine self-mobilization in patients with mechanical neck pain: A randomized controlled trial.” J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2019 Apr;23(2):417-424.
2. Cleland, J.A. “Immediate effects of thoracic manipulation in patients with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial.” Man Ther, 2005 May;10(2):127-35.