I found one of my old posts about top rib mobilization so wanted to add it here-

top rib mobilization -by excellent PT guy-IMO

He took the time to do a full evaluation - more detailed than any doctor that I had seen.
I mentioned having "choking feelings " like my collar bones were being pulled up into my throat & it felt like I was wearing a very tight necked sweater all the time - so he said "let me try something".

He stood behind me while I was sitting on the table and pressed with steady firm pressure down on top of my shoulder close to my neck {1 side at a time} just a short time {20-30 sec} then stepped back to check - that area had lowered {1/2"}- so he did the same to the other side too. It didn't hurt a bit & I immediately felt looser in my neck & it relieved the costoclavical sp? compression??.{ top ribs and clavicle compressing things}

I assume the top rib and the collar bones were pinching something and causing very limited arm use for me at the time.
I had been having the "choking" feelings and extremely tight and fatigued neck muscles for quite awhile. { about 6 months }
On the drive home I didn't need to keep changing my hand positions and my neck felt so wonderful.

He also told me how to tell if the top rib popped up again -and it did during my PT exercises at a different place.
I had told this other PT about it and he mobilized it with a different technique- diff position but same pressure & area.
He had done an eval on me 3 days earlier and didn't check for that even though I told him of the choking feelings and collarbone pulling into neck feelings.

You might have to just ask them {PT/MD/DC/DO} to check for elevated top rib - they may not check it on their own.

And the chiro did a top rib adjustment a couple times after that but it would feel weird/tilted for a couple days - but then fine & still now.

Now he rarely has to do any adjustment for that.
__________________