First Rib & Self Mobilization
 

Does anyone have any go to stretches for this?

I feel like I'm "surrounding" my problem pretty well with scalene and pec stretches, but I don't think I'm getting at the first rib issue (if it is the issue).

My hypothesis is that the posterior first rib may have been the problem from the getgo 18 months ago. I suffered some kind of injury at the gym in the posterior neck/shoulder region and I wonder if the end result was an elevated posterior first rib.

I've seen a lot of youtube videos where practitioners mobilize the first rib, but I want to do this myself. I've seen one example where you grab a pole of some sort, put a towel around the end and essentially stick it into the area of the first rib while laying on the floor. You then push the pole into the wall to push the rib down while at the same time lifting your arm overhead and externally rotating.

Anyways, any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

KY

Just about anything you can figure out or invent from things around the home might work to fit in there to do some gentle pressure on the top rib.

I have a weighted ball about 8" around- against a wall or even using the arm of a couch for pressure , the foam roll can work - use the end of it on the top rib and press against a wall or whatever will have some solid resistance to the pressure.

One site shows using a large rolled towel and draping it over the top rib and across the body to the other hand & you pull down to do the mobilization. But if you are having spasms the pulling down may make that worse...

Or if you have anything you can stand under with a towel or padding on the area , then raise up and let the pressure happen that way. It shouldn't take a lot of pressure at all, but many x's a day esp if you area having tightness /or spasms.

you probably already know this but id def work on breathing through your diaphragm, lessens tension in upper chest/neck area