By Gavin Buehler
It’s not uncommon when assessing patients to find one side of the ribcage having a flared out bottom portion or just one side feeling fuller than the other. There are numerous reasons why this may occur such as trauma, an aberrant breathing pattern, for females who have given birth, the way a baby may have been positioned in the womb often causes this type of presentation.
This kind of asymmetry in the torso creates different loading patterns throughout the body and can affect many areas. Spinal alignment is one such compensation, and that can have implications on neck alignment as well as pelvic alignment. Since the shoulder blades sit on the ribcage, the shoulders may also be directly impacted by such malalignment, and you can see how many different symptoms might start to creep up.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to get stuck in this sort of shape because as rib mobility on one side diminishes, we begin to re-enforce the poor pattern every time we take a breath. And we do seem to breathe a lot, don’t we? Our body’s naturally shift into patterns of ease, and so if the ribs on one side aren’t moving well and begin to restrict lung expansion and retraction, we will depend more on the functional side and become lazy on the restricted side.
However, we can do things to help restore natural function throughout the body. With this particular issue the modified side plank with reach may help coax things back into a more balanced state. By engaging the muscles contributing to rib movement on side where air flows with ease, we create tension and restriction. That opens the opportunity to focus our breath into the restricted side restimulating normal function.
Please see the video below for an explanation of why this movement works and how to perform it.
This isn’t a magical fix that occurs after performing this exercise once or twice, you do have to repeat it on a regular basis until your body recalibrates. The length of time it takes will differ from person to person.
As always, these videos are for entertainment and educational purposes only. Please consult a health professional before attempting new exercises or protocols, as the following suggestions may or may not be appropriate for you.
Recommended Protocols:
1-3 sets, 6-8 breaths, taking 4 seconds to inhale and 4 seconds to exhale. Perform a 2:1 ratio where you do two sets for every one on the restricted side. This exercise can be performed 1-3 times daily.
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