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By Stephanie Young, CSCS, USAW

ave you ever looked at the body from top-down and wondered how it should work from a movement standpoint? For gymnasts, the ability

to flip, leap, turn, do handstands, etc., in all three planes of movement while demonstrating physical strength, balance, flexibility, mobility, and agility is the essence of what they do in sport. As the gymnast competes, each joint or series of joints has a specific function and is prone to specific, predictable levels of dysfunction. The following is a look at the body on a joint-by-joint basis from the bottom up: Ankle mobility, knee stability, hip mobility, lumbar spine stability, t-spine mobility, gleno-humeral stability. As a result, each joint has specific training needs.

Throughout this article, we are going to take a deeper look into the thoracic spine. In order to address the t-spine, an understanding about it is essential. Figure A (below) shows the region of the thoracic spine. It con-sists of the 12 vertebrae in the mid part of the spine between scapulas. It starts just below C7 and goes all the way down to L1. As stated earlier, the t-spine is meant to be mobile and in return the lumbar spine

is supposed to be stable. All too often, this is back-wards, and the thoracic spine is stable instead of mobile and gymnasts are attempting to get motion out of the lumbar spine. There are three types of movements intend-ed of the t-spine: ro-tation, flexion, and extension. Rotation allows gymnasts to move, reach, and tumble in biome-chanically sound

ways. Many gymnasts will present an asymmetry with this movement. Flexion is significant because of poor postural habits but extension is deficient. The important thing about thoracic spine mobility is almost no one has enough, and it’s hard to get too much. Below are a series of exer-cises to aid in t-spine mobility.

The first thing that should be done is the foam roller. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, the foam roller is used to really expose the soft tissue of the thoracic spine, while in Figures 3–5, the tennis balls are used to mobilize the vertebrae. These exercises ideally should be done pre-competition or pre-workout. Figures 3–5 are two tennis balls taped together and should be placed along the spine. As the athlete gets started, 5 pulses should be performed pushing the feet into the wall and relax, and then move the tennis ball up the spine one tennis ball width and

perform the same function. The series of exercises that can be performed throughout a work-out are included in Figures 6–8. Thoracic spine extension is being

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure A

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Figure 3

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performed in Figure 6. Make sure the gymnast’s hips are locked into the wall as they extend as far as they can through their thoracic spine holding for 20–30 sec. As seen in Figures 7 and 8, the gymnast is working on thoracic spine rotation. Make sure the gymnast drives the hips back creating a table top with their back. As the gymnast performs 10–15 reps each side, be sure they are rotating through the upper part of their backs, not just making the movement with their arms. In all of these movements, the goal is the same, improving the quality of movement of your gymnast.

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 5

Figure 4

St. Vincent Hospital and St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis, Indiana are official service providers to USA Gymnastics Call 317-415-5747 or visit sportsperformance.stvincent.org