Rib cage flare during overhead lifting is a common movement fault seen in lifters. Whilst in isolation it is not always an issue, quite often it becomes an issue with overhead lifts. Particularly as you progress to a 1RM. If you aren’t familiar with the term rib cage flare, it is another name for overextension of the spine (usually around the thoraco-lumbar junction). It is often called rib cage flare by personal trainers because the most obvious identifying feature is a protruding rib cage.

Rib cage flare during such lifts is often cause by 1 of 2 things:

1) Poor movement patterns or

2) Lack of mobility and thus overcompensation via spinal overextension

When determining if 1 or 2 is the cause, I start by cueing the athlete through the movement to see if the lifter can maintain neutral posturing in a full overhead movement. This may require both verbal and hands-on cueing. If they can maintain neutral with some simple mechanic changes then mobility is clearly not the issue. In that case, it is purely a matter of retraining the movement pattern and postural patterns in the overhead position.If cueing does not fix the movement, then a mobility restriction is likely to be the root cause.

HOW TO HELP AN ATHLETE WITH RIB CAGE FLARING CAUSED BY INCORRECT MOVEMENT PATTERNS

Firstly, I start by educating the patient about what we are trying to correct with visual, tactile and verbal cueing. Using the analogy of “closing your bowls” (bowl not bowels…important distinction ) often works well;

““Your pelvis is a bowl, with the opening facing up; your ribcage is an upside-down bowl. In order to create a stable midline, we need to close these bowls. For many, this means bringing the top bowl down, i.e. pulling the ribs down.””

This may require an ego drop, backing the weights down to a load where proper form is maintainable. I find it useful here to incorporate filming for visual feedback and encourage your athletes to go away and film themselves when attempting this movement alone.

QUICK MOBILITY TESTS FOR RIB CAGE FLARE

I typically start with thoracic spine mobility testing using the lumbar locked thoracic rotation test. Begin sitting on knees with your butt on your heels. Place one forearm on the ground and the other behind your back. Rotate towards the upper hand. 50 degrees of rotation should be available in each direction (shoulders relative to the ground).

Next, I check out the shoulders. Start assessing the shoulders by lying the client in supine and seeing if the shoulders can open up to a full 1800-degrees with the arm resting on the ground. Next, flex the hips to 90-degrees to increase tension on the lats. If the angle changes with the hips up, then tight lats should be addressed.

Another contributing mobility factor to consider is anterior hip tightness; however, more often than not the two listed above are the root cause.

From here it is imperative to assess and address any issues surrounding midline stabilisation, scapular stabilisation and coordination of breathing.

If you are interested in learning specific techniques to address these issues, drop me a line admin@pursuitphysiotherapy.com.