thoracic spine extension – Tony Gentilcore

There are many things that can make your shoulder(s) hate life.

Poor programming balance
Less than stellar exercise technique
Muscular imbalances
Bony adaptations (acromion type
Poor scapular kinematics
Orcs

And, for some, we could even make the case for faulty breathing mechanics and/or contralateral hip/ankle mobility restrictions.

I try not to get that into the weeds when it comes to people’s shoulders, though. It comes across as too voodoo(ish). That’s a word right?

If someone’s shoulders are cranky I like to keep things simple and start where I most often see issues…….

……their left ventricle.

HAHA, just kidding.

It’s the thoracic spine.

Accessing T-Spine Extension For Shoulder Health

Having the ability to extend the thoracic spine is a game changer for many people, especially for those who tend to be sequestered for hours on end in front of a computer on a day-to-day basis.

For lack of a better term, a lot of cool shit happens with extension:

The shoulder blades can retract and upwardly rotate.
It’s much easier to get the arms overhead.
It’s easier to keep the chest up during squats and deadlifts.
It makes for a “better” bench press. I.e., shoulder blades can retract and depress providing a more stable base of support.
It makes you 17.2% more attractive.[footnote]Look it up on PubMed.[/footnote]

The thoracic spine (thorax for the nerds in the room) is the “anchor” of the shoulder blades. Ideally we like to see congruency between the ribcage/thorax/t-spine/whatchamacalit and the shoulder blades.

When someone is a bit more kyphotic (rounded) in that area it makes it almost impossible for this to happen because the shoulder blades will often be more abducted and anteriorly tilted.

This can setoff a domino effect of other shenanigans such as a narrowing of the acromion space (for example), which in turn leads to rotator cuff issues, which then leads to not being able to bench press without pain, which, as we all know, means the Apocalypse is upon us.

Let’s avoid the Apocalypse.

To that end I’d like to take this time to share some of my “go to” T-Spine Extension drills I use with my own clients and athletes on a weekly basis.

1. T-Spine Extension Off a Foam Roller (Performed In a Way That Doesn’t Make Me Want to Swallow Live Bees)

Likely the most recognizable drill many gravitate towards – and for good reason (it’s a good one) – is T-Spine Extension off a foam roller.

However, many tend to go waaaaaaay too far with their total range of motion on this to where it becomes more of a lumbar spine movement.

Here’s how to do it correctly:

2. Prone T-Spine Extension

I reserve “fancy” for choosing a nice restaurant for a date night with my wife.[footnote]You know, something like Applebees.[/footnote]

I don’t feel the need to get fancy with my T-spine extension drills.

The Prone T-Spine Extension drill is a fantastic way to build mid-back endurance.

3. Child’s Pose Back Extension Off Med Ball

What’s great about this variation is that when we adopt the “child’s pose” (knees tucked underneath) we OMIT the lumbar spine.

So now the only area we can get movement is the t-spine.

4. Pigeon Stance w/ Reach Through & Extension

Taking the previous concept and upping the ante a little bit is this exercise I “stole” from Dean Somerset.

If we want to talk about a drill that provides a TON of benefit for our training buck this is it.

Here we get a stellar hip mobility/glute stretch, while at the same time taking the lumbar spine out of the equation (because that’s NOT where we want movement from).

Too, with the reach through (and then extension) we’re getting a double whammy effect of mid-back mobility goodness.

NOTE: I like to add in an inhale (through the nose) on the reach through and then a FULL exhale (out the mouth) as the individual extends back up.

NOTE #2: My tricep looks fucking amazing in this video.

5. Wall T-Spine Extension w/ Lift Off

This drill is a doozy as well.

Pushing the hips back and “settling” into your accessible t-spine extension ROM is money enough for most people. But when you add in the end-range “lift off” (lifting the hands off the wall) at the end, it adds that little “eff you” component not many people will like.

Be careful not to crank through your lower back on this one!

6. Goblet Squat w/ Overhead Reach

You can thank Dr. Quinn Henoch for this one.

This one is more challenging than it looks, so way on the side of conservative when choosing the loads you use.

I’m using a 10 kg kettlebell in this video and am pretty sure I blacked out after shooting this video.

Want More Shoulder Magic?

Join me IN-PERSON for two upcoming Fall workshops I am putting on. I cover shoulder/hip assessment, programming strategies, the concept of the TRAINABLE MENU, favorite Decepticons, and much, much more.

1. Strategic Strength Workshop (w/ Luke Worthington) – October 8-9th @ West Hollywood, CA

2. Coaching Competency Workshop – October 20th @ Rochester, NY

Thoracic (mid-back) extension is kind of a big deal.

Without turning this into an anatomy lesson, t-spine extension is important for a variety of reasons. In no particular order:

It’s what the mid-back (T1-T12) is designed to do. However, due to the long hours many of us tend to accumulate at work and at home in excessive flexion (hunched over, rounded upper back), we lose the ability to get into and maintain extension.
In short: “good” posture can become compromised.
T-spine extension allows us to get into proper positions to lift things – it’s crucial for overhead activities (or elevating the arms overhead in general), deadlifting, squatting, and helping to offset “sheer forces” on the spine.
Lack of t-spine extension means you can never be Batman.[footnote]For real. Sorry.[/footnote]
Our scapulae (shoulder blades) are more or mess at the mercy of thorax position. For those who present with a more kyphotic/computer guy posture, the “resting” position of our scapulae can be affected (abducted, anteriorly tilted) which can (not always) lead to shoulder ouchies in addition to scapular dyskinesis.

There are numerous ways to address lack of thoracic extension, the most common being foam rolling the mid-back followed by corrective modalities such as:

Bench T-Spine Mobilizations

Rocked Back Extension-Rotations

Side Lying Windmill

We’d then follow all of that with strength-based exercises – cued well – to help “cement” things. Front squats, for example, would be a great fit here. The anterior placement of the barbell forces the upper back musculature to counteract the forward pull to keep the torso upright; in effect nudging trainees into more t-spine extension.

Another popular approach is to use the foam roller in a different way and pepper in some additional t-spine extension patterning.

You all know the drill: take a foam roller, lie on it, and lean back, waaaaaaay back.

Like this:

While intentions are good in this scenario and there is some mid-back extension happening, it arrives at the expense of movement coming from elsewhere…the lumbar spine (often times with the hips coming off the ground) in conjunction with a massive rib flair.

Thoracic movement is much more subtle than people think. I fear this is one of those cases where many people – fitness industry pros included – have grown infatuated with the notion more ROM (Range of Motion) is better ROM.

Not the case.

Accessing T-Spine Extension For Healthy Shoulders