yeah i have a hard foam roller and i have had my worst flare ups by far using that thing. its way too thick and i i feel a kink in my back where the bottom of my ribs start (aka kyphosis!) and i try to press the stupid thing out..then i flare up and it doesnt go away for weeks. i need something like that soft and thinner but im still scared of them tbh.

i can do a cat stretch now tho without a flare up. i couldn't do that a year ago.

my tos was completely caused by my shoulders being unstable. theyre disgusting. but now im worried when they get stronger the damage will already be done. i have experienced, personally, awful posture because i am already in pain and vice versa. its a feedback loop. i actually have a pic of my back after a flare up and you can see it. my right shoulder is hiked up and more twisted than usual. so hell yes i am going to slouch, lol

my levator muscles cause my neck pain. they're the equivalent of most peoples scalenes here i guess. they feel like a toxic waste dump..same with my arm pits/lats

Just sounding off here that I also get the rib elevation. I'm right handed and my TOS is primarily on the left side. My left/TOS side is the side where I get the rib elevation and torsion.

In the network of disfunction that is my left side, I no longer know who is the Cause and who is the Effect.

I too have had problems with foam rollers being too hard. I even dropped to a half roller and put a blanket on it and the thing is still too hard. So I'll give that pink one a try.

I like the 2 lb soft weight ball too(sand filled). Much softer than even the foam roller. also cheaper. I use both now. I keep one ball by my bed at night.

Chroma,

You should give Dr. Ando a try. They will even do a free 15 minute consult with you. www.andoaston.com

They also sell the foam rollers and yamuna balls.

i started using this theraband flexbar i had for my elbows its still too hard but its very small like a rolling pin and i put it VERTICALLY, right up against one side of my t-spine ribs area at a time so left side then right. these are my problem areas. i dont need the huge foam roller tbh for me its dangerous

yesterday i went to pt and my rt rib was elevated and i had teh WORST trigger points in my occipital area on my right but not my left. so i do think the rib elevation triggered all of that, i srsly doubt i was jerking my occiptals around on just one side. doesnt make snese

in my case, the upper plexus compression with the rib elevated was causing the occipital triggers. I have not had any more occipital symptoms since my rib resections.