Movement Assessments (ACE): Thoracic Spine Mobility

Purpose: Detect observable muscular deviations related to overactive and underactive skeletal muscle.

Equipment: Chair, Dowel, and yoga block

Procedure: 

• Begin by instructing the participant to sit up right in a firm chair. Make sure that they are positioned to the front of the chair so their back does not not the backrest. 
• Hand your subject the yoga block to place between their legs.
• Place the dowel on their upper trapezius and instruct the participant to hold on to each end in a back squat rack position.
• Instruct the subject to maintain symmetrical posture while squeezing the yoga block with hips and then rotate left to end-range of motion as well as rotate right to end-range of motion.
• Repeat three times on each side while observing if the subject can reach 45º as well as if one side is more mobile than the other.