This has changed my life. I have been struggling with various symptoms for years now. I’ve been doing this exercise for about two weeks now and I knew I was on to something the first time I tried it because the pain I felt in my neck muscles was extreme. It was like I was tearing them apart because of the tension they were in. After a couple of days carefully stretching my neck the tingling and numbness in my arms went away. After about a week my pain in my jaw disappeared and now after two weeks my migraines and dizziness are completely gone. I’ve seen dozens of doctors, chiropractors and physiotherapists over the years and no one has been able to help me. Thank you so much for sharing this! You have truly made my life so much better.
I can't 'Thank You' enough for making this video, I only wish I would have found it sooner. For over 30 years I have been dealing with T.O.S. symptoms. From back then till today, after playing basketball or other sports, my wrists would turn ice cold. My hands would fall asleep and become numb more nights than I can count. My fingers would look like prunes some mornings leading me to believe I was severely dehydrated. I first mentioned this to the nurse at work who convinced me I probably had some type of circulation issue because back then I smoked. I gave up cigarettes but the problem persisted. I finally pointed my concern out to my doctor about 10 years ago and all he told me was "We'll just keep an eye on it. Take some Tylenol and take it easy. It's probably just a pinched nerve or something." It would come and go but I never thought anything serious of it, they're the professionals. I just learnt to deal and live with it. I have all kinds of massage tools, foam rollers, massage guns, E.M.S. units, etc. Some of them gave me slight relief but after trying your method....just one time (I have tears in my eyes)...the relief was immediate and the pulse in my wrists are stronger than they've been in years. I can Thank You a million times over and that still wouldn't be enough. Your video have truly, truly been a blessing to me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
OMG I'm in tears as well. Thank you for sharing your story and your success. When I make these videos I have no idea if they'll have an impact. I'm so grateful to be able to share with you and help you reclaim your health. I hope you can get back to doing what you love in life without fear. All the best and much love.
I know this is 3 years later. But this same thing happened to me and I can relate to the tears of joy. We can sometimes take "feeling good" for granted and man when nerves get trapped etc. there is nothing worse.
I have scoliosis right side thoracic curve , left side lumbar curve, my left rib is out of alignment. I have seen many Doctors who specialize in one area of the body thus missing the point that the body functions as a whole, I have spent thousands on Amazon looking for the perfect tool to relieve my pain until finally I had to learn the anatomy of the body. I have researched and researched, watch tons of videos , read medical reviews but this video was simple. I immediately rushed to Amazon to buy the bands because the other methods, belt, towel, lacrosse ball etc wasn’t giving me the compression I needed. Thanks for the video it helps us all that have been dismissed by the medical field at large. I have spent so much money on massages, equipment and chiropractors but this allows me to get relief even when I don’t have disposable income.
So glad you found the video helpful. I’m sorry you’ve been on such a journey, but sometimes it just takes the right thing at the right time to find relief. I appreciate your kind words. Be well.
Awesome video, thanks so much. Bit of marketing advice, Google is crawling your audio, your descriptions and your titles to decide what to show, to who. So be specific on all the kinds of conditions that your videos pertain to and you'll get more views. If it helps with thoracic outlet syndrome etc. put it in your title, say it in the audio, and so on. You'll see your views jump. Hope that helps you as much as your video helped us.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this advice. Very thoughtful. I'll try it right away. Glad you liked the video and I hope it helped you or whomever needed relief of neck and arm symptoms.
The last few weeks I have been going to the chiropractor for my functional scoliosis which I didn’t get treatment for, for about 7 years. My father and grandmother have the same problem, so I always thought F it, I can still do manual labour, I can still exercise, just bite through the pain mate 👍🏻 I’m 29 now and I had constant migraines, no energy, pain from the hip to the head so I finally went to do something about. In 4 weeks of treatment my pain has almost vanished, while watching your video I did the movement with my neck from the stretch, felt a pop and boom my neck feels free after a day of cutting down trees and moving logs 🤙🏻 thanks a ton mate
Yo so glad to hear your story. Well done. I'm so grateful to hear that you found it all helpful. Most chiros and PTs won't tell you that pain and scoliosis aren't connected and that scoliosis is normal and is not pathological. The saying is that "we grow like trees" and not all of us are straight. And that's ok. Being a little curvy is not dangerous and there is nothing wrong with you, or your family ;). Keep up the tree work and staying active. Working outside and doing physical labor is hard work but a gift relative to those of us in front of our computers much of the day. Cheers to you mate.
So great to hear that Andrew. Swimmers are especially prone to this mostly benign mechanical issue. Especially fast ones! I'd love to hear more about what you noticed that changed in your body. Thanks for the comment!
@@charliemerrill just a really nice feeling of release in the shoulder and arm. Did a shoulder mobility exercise afterwards and instantly did better than I had done 5 minutes before
@@andrewg3196 Thanks for the feedback. Yes the instant feeling of blood rush is no doubt the return of blood and nerve input to the arm after compression. But the feeling of better function is always surprising. Like having more space, more muscle power/control, and more flow. It's amazing how much we get used to operating at 80%. I like the garden hose analogy where there's just slight compression reducing water output. Then when you remove the compression, there's more flow out the end. Nice to have that extra 20% back. You might need to repeat a few times to break the pattern. Best of luck and thanks again for sharing.
Love this so much more than the chiropractic video I saw suddenly jerking the neck. I have this problem plus TOS issues. The combination almost sent me to ER last week because this time it was different and worse due to sitting at a computer 40 hours, moving to a new house and pulling up flooring. One doctor told me stretch like flossing or brushing, don't miss a day! Oops, time to get back on track. I plan to do this on regular basis. Thank you.
Can't wait to try this. Been dealing with nerve pain deriving from my neck and down my arm, chest and upper back/lat. Could be my first rib, well she does cause pain, but we're actually talking about my actual first rib. Don't have a band at home and the belt thing looks uncomfortable.
This helped me a lot, thank you. I am a rock climber. I had venous thoracic outlet syndrome and required emergency surgery. That arm is basically fine now. A year later, I seem to have some neurologic symptoms in my other arm likely TOS, but not at blood clot level. The issues are tightness and pain in the thoracic outlet, and some hand tingling. I've known it caused by tight scalenes and an elevated first rib, but I had no idea how to remedy it. My PT didn't even have suggestions. So, thank you! I used an old belt tonight, with a lot of success. I'm going to get a 3/4" thick black resistance band to make it more effective and efficient.
Thanks for sharing your story. It's common for symptoms to jump sides in the absence of any real structural problem because our brain's are really good at learning symptoms. This is one symptom behavior we use to diagnose nervous system sensitivity and start to work with symptoms in a new way. If there were life events that happened around the time of the opposite side flare up that were particularly stressful, and/or we reminiscent of when the original pain (surgery side) started, that's also good to know. The physical changes in the body are easy to treat and not dangerous. But it's worth looking at some of the other variables in your life too (the non body variables). Reach out via my website if you want to chat about it.
@@allann7333 1) nope. My symptoms when I clotted were swelling, stiffness and warmth.My non-clot arm, which I was struggling with in the comment above, has some venous compression at full abduction, but no hand temp changes. It's currently completely asymptomatic. I do notice hand temp problems when stressed. Muscle relaxation and breathing long exhales can help with that. 2) I got the paraclavicular approach first rib resection and scalenectomy after the blood clot.
@@Shloopy420 I'm strongly considering surgery. I might have arterial thoracic outlet syndrome, if physical therapy doesn't work. Would you say the surgery was worth it?
I think this may have just solved my problem, i was literally contemplating having the doctors do the first rib surgery but this might be able to slowly get me some progress
I've had issues with extreme discomfort in my left shoulder for years due to what I believe is my first rib. It started when I was doing pushups with bad form at home and after some time I started to get "numbness"/discomfort in my shoulder area and elbow on one side. It was so bad that it started affecting my sleep. I've been working out for some time but I have an extreme discrepancy in strength between my left and right side, something like 10-15kg difference in most exercises. I believe the biggest reason for this is due to poor control, it feels like my shoulder is internally rotated, and stability in that area and it's because of the first rib. When my discomfort is at it's worst I can feel it just under my skin. I've experienced relief in that area twice, both times when stretching the pecs/shoulders. I felt a strong "tear", no pain, and warmth in my pec and shoulder area. After this I experienced better control and strength in the area but the relief went away after a day or two. So that's why I believe the reason is the compression of the brachial plexus. I've taken a break from weight lifting but I'm starting again and I was planning on really focusing on pull ups and rows. I've done some lower trap activation and exercises but I'm having a really hard time with feeling those. The discomfort has been so bad recently that it's taken me 6 hours to fall asleep but I tried this "exercise" during last night and felt some relief. So now I'm planning on doing this everyday, at least before sleep, and is there anything else I should focus on? I believe my sleeping position also contributes, I sleep on my stomach with my left arm raised and under my pillow. I've tried to change that but it's really hard. Sorry for the long winded rant.
Hey sorry for the delay. Sounds like you're feeling that thoracic outlet area getting compressed due to neck tension and an elevated upper rib (1st and maybe 2nd). The 2nd rib is harder to correct but there is a way to do it. Maybe my next video. In the meantime, rows and pull ups really wont get those accessory muscle firing to take stress off of your neck. Look at my lower trap and serratus anterior videos, use the band to stretch your scalenes (like in this video), and notice if you're breathing shallow using your neck muscles (the scalenes are not supposed to help much with breathing unless you are exercising really hard). Focus on breathing deeper into your belly and diaphragm as much as you can. Sleeping positions aren't really going to hurt you, despite popular opinion. Don't worry too much about that. Also, take a look at your life stress day to day and see if that tracks with your symptoms. Happy to do a video consult with you at some point if you'd like.
@@charliemerrill i also have an elevated first rib and a lot of front side and back neck tension/spasms as a result. my story is very alike and i was also doing unilateral pushups with bad form, also assisted one arm pull ups which caused my first severe spasm in my levator scapulae, whereafter my problems started. when i wake up in the morning and want to fall back asleep i always get a strong urge to lie on my stomach and tilt my head to the side, but i keep myself from doing so because it has caused severe spasms before which takes about a week to loosen up. the positive note of these single muscle spasms is that my overall tightness, radiating pain and arm numbness is completely gone, but a very painful muscle in trade. when the muscle spasm releases my overall pain comes back.. thanks for this exercice though it did relieve some tension and pain. i would also advice Max to quit working out his upper body until his problem is resolved. even when i do bicep curls with low weights it creates enormous tension in my neck, especially the front and sides. breathing through my belly also helped alot my physiotherapist says he can fix my problem in 3 weeks if i give myself enough rest. meanwhile my pain and tension is extremely inconsistent. i can wake up with barely any pain just some tightness and get extreme pain throughout the day, or i can wake up with some pain and it goes away throughout the day. i am wondering if u have any more tips and tricks for do's and dont's, because i really want to know what causes more pain and what causes less pain. especially sitting in a bad chair or sofa is impossible for me because after a couple of minutes my neck becomes very painful
You did more for me in 6' & 34" than anybody has, no kidding. I'm going to keep doing this. I've thought for well over a year now that maybe I had Parsonage Turner Syndrome. We shall see;)
CHECKEREDPAST Last thank you so much for sharing. It brings me great joy to think that I've had such an impact on your body with my video. Please stay in touch regarding your progress.
Every single muscle and rib are a major issue for me, as I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I am very unstable and unbalanced everywhere. I sublux many times a day. My PT taught me this technique 3.5 years ago! BUT! I look forward to trying it as you've described. I tend to overdue bc my pain is pretty agonizing, so I don't distinguish where I should stop very well. I think your description is really going to help me figure that out, finally! AND, Idkw but i never thought of the rib and scalenes associated with carpal tunnel! thank you for all the great info!!
Greatly appreciative of your video and for sharing your knowledge with me! You've taught me so much. Ive had hand symptoms for a couple years that change a lot. Hand coldness, elbow and pinky side tingling, index finger symptoms and "nerve tightness". It has really taken over my life. I believe I got index finger issues from mousing a lot in the past, like a lump on my flexor tendon, where most get it with trigger finger. When mousing I get this tightness feeling in the lump area, but also pain on the opposite side of the finger, on the back of my hand. Just 10 minutes and my hand is a gonner! I'm working on my posture and shoulders (thanks for your serratus/low trap videos!), but I have no idea how to smoothen out my wrist and my index finger locally. I've been doing what you described in "stability vod 66" for a month now, with nerve stretch and rubbing the tendon. Any ideas what I could try to increase my index fingers endurance or reduce irritation with this activity? What kind of strengthening could I do? Id love being able to use a mouse again. Thanks again, ~ Joe from Norway
Joegengstah glad you’re enjoying the videos. rather than doing isolated strength, I’m a big fan of doing more functional movements to condition your upper body. Pull ups, push ups, and overhead presses are a few I’m thinking of. Scaling them correctly can be helpful assuming they are challenging at first. For instance doing push-ups on knees or elevated on a table or bench. And using a band to assist the pull-ups. Beyond that we know that symptoms can be learned by the brain and some activities become conditioned to cause pain even though they are not dangerous or hurting you. The longer we have pain, the more we trust that the body is healed while the brain continues to run a “neural pathway” for those symptoms. Once you understand that and mousing no longer feels dangerous you can use graded exposure to progressively add mousing back into your day.
@@charliemerrill Thanks for the reply. That makes a LOT of sense what you described about the pain. I can use my hands for other things, and can go way longer before discomfort sets in. However if I even think about touching a mouse - BAM pain.... Have you experienced similar stories before, and a slowly increasing exposure like that working? I'll definately try it along with exercising more. Im pretty deconditioned, and just started working out again. Been focused on aerobic (mountain hiking), postural and corrective exercises at first to help get my alignement and mobility in order- core, glutes, deep cervical flexors, thoracic spine mobility, rotator cuff face pull variations, reverse fly and rows. Also getting my lower traps and serratus online through your god given videos. It has been working, because the upper trap and levator scap pain I had, resting and exercise tension is going away. Also my upper trap compensation pattern went hasta la byebye, and I can do clean retractions and lower trap exercises now! Thanks so much! I'm getting back in shape because of your knowledge. I can't pull myself up, but I can start doing negative pull ups until I improve? If not I can look for a band that will work. I'll start improving on my push ups and look into overhead presses also!
Mine comes from sleeping with my arm up. Also FYI laying down on a foam roll with your arms spread out for 15 min a day will also open that tunnel and relieve symptoms. Helps with kyphosis too
Hi Meril Peformance, doing this has helped me to fall asleep without pain for the first time in a long time. The only issue is I can feel my rib popping back out every time I do physical activity. What are the mechanics to fixing this permanently and secondly how can I do a video consult with you?
I have had this issue for 9 years today. All my doctors don’t seem to care or understand it, all my therapists think it’s just a weakness issue. I have has nerve tests and years of Physical therapy and nothing not even this work. The rib pops out all the time and stays. Just tried this multiple time and still nothing
Not yet but I'll consider making one. There's a trend in fitness toward talking about people breathing "wrong". I'm not a fan of this narrative. While it's helpful to be mindful of our breathing, we all know how to breath. Try a deep slow breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Place one hand around your neck to feel your scalenes and one hand on your belly to feel your air move down with your diaphragm. Aim to reduce neck tension when you inhale an maximize the deeper breath to your belly and pelvic floor. Shoot for some ratio similar to 5 seconds in/10 seconds out. It's very relaxing.
Merrill Performance thank you! I think Ive got a pinched nerve and went to the chiropractor who has done some “first rib adjustments” as well as this & it is helping slowly. I wonder if i also have some muscles not firing cause my left scalenes traps and rhomboid is constantly tight and painful, I am having some improvement but cant workout still due to severe muscle fatigue in my left shoulder. I used to pole vault and wonder if this made it worse. Anyways thank you so much for the videos!!
Pam Conboy yes between the intensity of breathing (moving air and turning the head/neck) during hard efforts and the long overhead reach before the glide of each stroke, swimmers can indeed use this to keep their neck and shoulders healthy.
This is what I’m dealing with. TOS elevated first rib. Seems also abs bracing and chest breathing will do this - stress. So are the scalenes weak and short holding them in place? Cheers
thank you for this, I noticed that after you removed the band your right shoulder was noticeably more depressed than your left one...is this because of the release of the rib?
Gotta say though, having seen/played with lots of veins and arteries at my old healthcare jobs, that "warm feeling" in the arm is definitely from occluding the vein, not from the opening bloodflow.
I've directly experienced both. The occluded vein makes my arm feel heavy, hot and abnormal while the increased blood flow down the artery travels from top to bottom and feels wonderful with no discoloration.
@@ImpulsoCreativo9322 Yes there is a risk of blood clot. Look up Pagett-Schroeder for more info. However, it's not guaranteed. The "Muscle Mind Worx" youtuber was walking around with a blue arm for awhile and didn't develop a clot. But his doctors were surprised he didn't.
@@Unavailable8923 thanks. I ask because i had a massage and she was working on the scm. While she was kneading i felt warmth and pressure in my left chest area. Kind of weird feeling. It went away when she left the area but I dont want to think that I now have a risk
@@ImpulsoCreativo9322 That was just some pressure on or by the carotid artery backing up your circulation. I don't think that would cause a clot. Btw there is a nice SCM treatment where you grab it with the opposite hand and tug down on it. Feels nice. If you feel a plus, move your grip higher.
Could the elevated rib be the reason for my trapped ulnar nerve (shoulder blade/arm pain and numbness in pinky)? My trap has been tight and overworked for years - so much so that my arm is bigger, i've had elbow and forearm issues and I haven't been able to overhead press.
I hope this makes mine pop/release. I've lived in hell for over a decade. I've been to specialists, Neurologists, neuro-surgeons, etc. Even tried 3 different chiros. All they did was the same exact assessment, All 3 had the same plan, crack my neck and crack my back, and then say "well, you ust have to keep coming back. We'll eventually get it." And i'm like i don't think so b/c y'all are all popping/cracking everywhere except where i say the pain/pinch is at. Same with neuro-surgeon. I had a wasted surgery on my neck, he cut TWO disks out and put a plate in there to "fuse" it. The fuse has never healed properly. But his whole reasoning from the beginning was that the pain/pinch/stiffness i feel on my back rightside under my traps/scalene and sometimes effecting down my arm , was that it has to come from a disk. I was told i can't have pain going out my neck and into shoulder, shoulder blade, scapula , into arm, unless a disk is compromised. And the surgery was done on front side. Even though i've said repeatedly over the yrs everything is on the back right. I've described it as it feels like the top rib or top 2nd rib where they connect into the flanged end of the vertebrae is kinked or bound up. And that something needs to move or shift or pop in order to release whatever is pinching or impeding on a nerve and/or blood vessels. But no, i'm told that don't make sense and that it has to be from the spine and the disks. Even though i know what i feel. I've tried tennis balls while against a wall, on the floor with knees bent and hips raised while rolling shoulder neck around trying to hope weight on the ball will land in an area to pop/move whatever is kinked up. I've tried all the physical therapy stretches. Was told i needed to "strengthen" the neck and shoulders to make them stronger and then that would make it go away. Nope. Plus my neck and shoulders are strong. It's not like a head & shoulders are loosey goosey and bobbing around. I'm built like a slightly out-of-shape linebacker, and my traps and scalene are always super tight, but never sore, unless i really rub deep deep into them. But i know everything feels like it's coming from that one area, and that something needs to move/shift/pop to release off of nerves(s) and/or blood vessels. I've wanted to draw a mark on the area, put on a football helmet, and go pay a crackhead to hit me with a ballpein hammer and hopefully break whatever is in that area in order to force them to have to cut me open and look and fix the area, and hope that that will alleviate it.
Thanks for the video. I tried this but didn’t get much relief, but I think it’s because my pain has been going on for so long. I’ve had posterior shoulder/ neck/ upper back pain for about 2.5 years and have been to Pt for it but they just thought it was scapular/ rotator cuff weakness and scapular winging causing my discomfort. I’ve always had discomfort and clicking in the first rib and clavicle area but always just thought it was pec minor tightness. I may try to do PT again and get them to evaluate my first rib to see if it is truly the problem, as I suspect it is.
Glad you tried it. Sometimes it's a combo that you need. Often times, despite long term symptoms, the body is just fine but pain sticks around. My newer videos address this common phenomenon. Let me know if you want to consult via zoom and I can help you problem solve. Mperformance.com
@@charliemerrill hey i also wanna share that subclavius might have a role in this kinda of condition, if this muscle it's tight it pull the clavicles against the first rib and produce the sypmtoms of TOS. It's good to work on both, first rib mobilization, subclavius release and upper trapezius strenghten since people who got that problem offten time their upper traps are very weak lenghten and creating trigger points 24/7 and because of that the shoulders simply collapsing and so is collarbone.
You can do it daily but it's a means to an end. Once the rib can drop fully as you exhale, you shouldn't need to keep it up. Or just use it periodically because it feels good. I like the scalene stretch part as a stand alone for many athletes and shallow breathes (Rock climbers and such). Sometimes the high rib side shoulder will look higher. But not always. The rib mobility is different from the scapular/shoulder blade position. Please let us know how it goes for you.
When i diagonally tilt my head back to the right I feel this sharp pain beneath my collar bone. Is this something that could be caused by an elevated first rib? Also I notice that when I hold my first rib down while tilting my head backwards it seems much easier to do. Not completely painfree but pretty close. As soon as I remove the strap, and tilt back again, it is pretty much right where I left off again. Any thoughts?
Hey Charlie, could other things cause the Ribcage as a whole to be elevated? Closing the area for the thoracic outlet nerves? Postural tilts, scoliosis etc?
This looks phenomenon tends to be caused by shallow breathing, fear, stress, anxiety which become habitual and are subconscious. So the rib loses mobility when you exhale this decreasing space in the thoracic outlet til mobility is restored. It’s really only the upper 2 ribs they affect the TO. I suppose it’s possible that posture elsewhere might affect the upper two ribs. More likely the neck, scapula, and shoulder. But case by case sure. It’s be a rare phenomenon that those other things are relevant though.
Thank a lot for your reply. I had TOS decompression surgery and even without the first rib, there is this huge grinding sound that could only be from my second rib that doctors are astounded by I’m based in the UK. And I’m trying to seek advice. Do you do zoom consultation, so I could ask you some questions (I will pay Ofcourse) I’ve got quite a crazy story for you in case you do. Any info on the second rib position would be very helpful.
roger scott Thanks for the question. First rib dysfunction is often a part of what causes neck pain whether it’s chronic or acute. Often, but not always, first rib issues will create some downstream problems in the shoulder, elbow, or hand including numbness in tingling. however the science tells us more and more that long-standing problems with pain are not just a problem with the body and the soft tissues. Please watch some of my newer videos to help you better understand what I mean. I suggest you consult with someone locally to help you problem solve or feel free to connect via my website at Mperformance.com If you like to do a virtual consult. I’m also starting another Instagram feed called themerrillmethod to talk more about the body and mind connection. Please follow me there for more.
danny ballerini thanks for the question and the kind words. You can buy these bands from Rogue Fitness. www.roguefitness.com/rogue-monster-bands You want the green #3 width for this and many other mobility exercises. They are about 40 inches long.
GQ 2611 That means it’s only a small piece of the puzzle. Work with your physio to address some of the other factors that may be contributing including your breathing pattern, shoulder mobility, neck stability/posture and shoulder blade stability, Stiffness through your thoracic spine Should also be addressed. Sometimes correcting the first rib is a magical fix but often there are other variables that need to be addressed at the same time.
@@charliemerrill I had cage fusion of C5/6 in May of last year. I had nerve root compression and put surgery off for 4 years untiI I could no longer cope with the pain. I was symptom free for 6 months apart from my thumb and finger remaining numb. The next finger is also numb but tingly, my wrist spasms and sticks for a second if I bend it back, my elbow hurts, tricep, shoulder, all that area and if I reach my arm round to say scratch my back, my arm feels dead for a few seconds. I am waiting on another MRI and I'm praying I won't need further surgery. Thank you so much for replying and so quickly, hardly anyone on RUclips does this.
@@GQ-yj5oy sounds like your fusion went very well. One thing we know about pain is it starts to live in our nervous system (brain and spinal cord) so that the longer we have it, the less it’s due to tissue damage and structural problems. I hope you’ll strongly consider surgery as a very last option. I have lots to share about chronic pain that you might find helpful. If you’re interested, reach out via my website and let’s have a phone call so I can share more. You’ll find my contact info at Mperformance.com
@@The_Kirk_Lazarus I live in the UK and we don't have them here. We have Orthopaedic surgeons, Physiotherapists and Chiropractors. My surgeon is an Orthopaedic Surgeon that specialises in only the spine. He is the best there is here and he warned me never to go near Chiropractors as they can do more harm than good in some patients, as without an MRI scan, they have no idea of exactly what is going on in your spine. I have had follow up MRI and my neck and previous fusion look good which is a huge relief, as there is no way I would be getting my neck re-opened for another fusion. I saw my Physiotherapist on Friday, and it seems I have double crush syndrome. My 1st rib has popped up and is causing the nerve compression in my brachial plexus, and it appears I have Carpal Tunnel syndrome too. I had a steroid injection (with no added local anaesthetic) into my carpal tunnel and it seems to have helped the pain in my hand a bit, although I'm not sure if it's possibly a placebo effect. I have that many different types of pain, levels of numbness and various sensations going on from my shoulder right down to my finger tips, that it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where the pain is. I will continue to do the exercise for my neck that is shown in the video, it really does help if done correctly, and will continue visits to the Physiotherapist. He is so good, I feel so much better after seeing him but it's short-lived. Fingers crossed it sorts things out in my neck anyway. I have had severe nerve pain for over six years, and although it's the same type of pains, the dermatome pattern is different for each area, which is why the doctor knew it wasn't residual pain from my C5/6 nerve compression. As I'm sure everyone who has experienced any type of nerve pain will know, it's soul destroying. I would love to stop taking medication and get some normality back. You don't realise when you are young the importance of looking after your spine, and when you do the damage has already been done. I dread to think how awful kids necks will be in years to come from constantly looking at their phones!! Many thanks for taking the time to reply.
Sometimes the clavicle sits low because people have poor scapular control, tight lats/subscap/pecs, or overlong upper traps. This can happen with an elevated 1st rib and the compression can be a bit higher. They don't always happen together, but the space between the 1st rib and clavicle will be significantly smaller.
A PT told me I had this but I’m not so sure. Whenever I roll my shoulders back and down I get a lot of crunching near the superior angle of back of the shoulder blade. It’s also very tight and causes pain esp on my left side. I sleep on my stomach a lot so I think this has to do with it. I also have rounded shoulders. Do you know what this crunching and pain and tightness is and how to fix is?
There's nothing to fix, luckily, That's just your shoulder blades rubbing over your rib. As you get better control and position of your blades, that will ease. Though some is still normal. Watch my serratus anterior and low trap videos. CrossOver symmetry especially and get good at doing those movements with or without bands. Use the foam roller to open up your pecs and mid back and your nerves (more recent videos) and you should be good to go. Thanks for watching.
Do I have this because when I put my arms out in front of me I noticed that I can see the tunnel that comes out on my left but doesn’t show on my right please respond I’ve been dealing with it since may and I don’t want it to get worse
Doo you mean you can see the area above your collar bone on the left but not the right (where symptoms are). Does it look congested on the symptomatic side? Did you try the correction and did it help. Happy to connect and talk more about it. Mperformance.com
Great video!! I went to a chiropractor for a hip issue but got roped into an extensive back program. After one violent motion, I had pain next to my shoulder blade and I adapted my posture to compensate. My shoulder is now impinged and unstable. Is this a rib thing do you think?
Thanks for the feedback. I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. The first rib could be a part of your adaptive pattern and there’s no harm in trying To correct it this way. For some people this will significantly reduce their symptoms. Often times people get numbness and tingling or other symptoms in their arm when the 1st rib is elevated. If this doesn’t take care of it, I would recommend seeing a manual physical therapist who can evaluate and treat you.
This has changed my life. I have been struggling with various symptoms for years now. I’ve been doing this exercise for about two weeks now and I knew I was on to something the first time I tried it because the pain I felt in my neck muscles was extreme. It was like I was tearing them apart because of the tension they were in. After a couple of days carefully stretching my neck the tingling and numbness in my arms went away. After about a week my pain in my jaw disappeared and now after two weeks my migraines and dizziness are completely gone. I’ve seen dozens of doctors, chiropractors and physiotherapists over the years and no one has been able to help me. Thank you so much for sharing this! You have truly made my life so much better.
I can't 'Thank You' enough for making this video, I only wish I would have found it sooner. For over 30 years I have been dealing with T.O.S. symptoms. From back then till today, after playing basketball or other sports, my wrists would turn ice cold. My hands would fall asleep and become numb more nights than I can count. My fingers would look like prunes some mornings leading me to believe I was severely dehydrated. I first mentioned this to the nurse at work who convinced me I probably had some type of circulation issue because back then I smoked. I gave up cigarettes but the problem persisted. I finally pointed my concern out to my doctor about 10 years ago and all he told me was "We'll just keep an eye on it. Take some Tylenol and take it easy. It's probably just a pinched nerve or something." It would come and go but I never thought anything serious of it, they're the professionals. I just learnt to deal and live with it. I have all kinds of massage tools, foam rollers, massage guns, E.M.S. units, etc. Some of them gave me slight relief but after trying your method....just one time (I have tears in my eyes)...the relief was immediate and the pulse in my wrists are stronger than they've been in years. I can Thank You a million times over and that still wouldn't be enough. Your video have truly, truly been a blessing to me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
OMG I'm in tears as well. Thank you for sharing your story and your success. When I make these videos I have no idea if they'll have an impact. I'm so grateful to be able to share with you and help you reclaim your health. I hope you can get back to doing what you love in life without fear. All the best and much love.
I know this is 3 years later. But this same thing happened to me and I can relate to the tears of joy. We can sometimes take "feeling good" for granted and man when nerves get trapped etc. there is nothing worse.
I have scoliosis right side thoracic curve , left side lumbar curve, my left rib is out of alignment.
I have seen many Doctors who specialize in one area of the body thus missing the point that the body functions as a whole, I have spent thousands on Amazon looking for the perfect tool to relieve my pain until finally I had to learn the anatomy of the body.
I have researched and researched, watch tons of videos , read medical reviews but this video was simple.
I immediately rushed to Amazon to buy the bands because the other methods, belt, towel, lacrosse ball etc wasn’t giving me the compression I needed.
Thanks for the video it helps us all that have been dismissed by the medical field at large.
I have spent so much money on massages, equipment and chiropractors but this allows me to get relief even when I don’t have disposable income.
So glad you found the video helpful. I’m sorry you’ve been on such a journey, but sometimes it just takes the right thing at the right time to find relief. I appreciate your kind words. Be well.
Changed my life, I have been trying other exercises but the adjustments just would not stay. This has helped maintain adjustments more.
I’ve had this dysfunction for a while and this was instantly effective. So simple! Thank you!
There is finally hope. Thank you so much. Would have never thought of this.
Daniel García is glad you found this helpful. Let me know if you want to talk more about your situation. Mperformance.com is my website.
Awesome video, thanks so much. Bit of marketing advice, Google is crawling your audio, your descriptions and your titles to decide what to show, to who. So be specific on all the kinds of conditions that your videos pertain to and you'll get more views. If it helps with thoracic outlet syndrome etc. put it in your title, say it in the audio, and so on. You'll see your views jump. Hope that helps you as much as your video helped us.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this advice. Very thoughtful. I'll try it right away. Glad you liked the video and I hope it helped you or whomever needed relief of neck and arm symptoms.
Michelle Weil super helpful. Thanks so much and glad you found the video helpful
I thought I was always going to be in pain when my osteopathic doctor retired. This video has literally SAVED me.
So glad. Manual Therapy is a dying art. Trying to keep it going...
The last few weeks I have been going to the chiropractor for my functional scoliosis which I didn’t get treatment for, for about 7 years. My father and grandmother have the same problem, so I always thought F it, I can still do manual labour, I can still exercise, just bite through the pain mate 👍🏻 I’m 29 now and I had constant migraines, no energy, pain from the hip to the head so I finally went to do something about. In 4 weeks of treatment my pain has almost vanished, while watching your video I did the movement with my neck from the stretch, felt a pop and boom my neck feels free after a day of cutting down trees and moving logs 🤙🏻 thanks a ton mate
Yo so glad to hear your story. Well done. I'm so grateful to hear that you found it all helpful. Most chiros and PTs won't tell you that pain and scoliosis aren't connected and that scoliosis is normal and is not pathological. The saying is that "we grow like trees" and not all of us are straight. And that's ok. Being a little curvy is not dangerous and there is nothing wrong with you, or your family ;). Keep up the tree work and staying active. Working outside and doing physical labor is hard work but a gift relative to those of us in front of our computers much of the day. Cheers to you mate.
Charlie, look at the views on this video with respect to the title, and the views on the other videos in the vicinity. This type of title = winner.
Totally see that! I've thought about much of what you shared. Thank you for the insight. How's the body since our virtual consult?
11 weeks pregnant and have elevated this from morning sickness.. this is my second time!
I was a swimmer for many years. This just worked black magic on my arm
So great to hear that Andrew. Swimmers are especially prone to this mostly benign mechanical issue. Especially fast ones! I'd love to hear more about what you noticed that changed in your body. Thanks for the comment!
@@charliemerrill just a really nice feeling of release in the shoulder and arm. Did a shoulder mobility exercise afterwards and instantly did better than I had done 5 minutes before
@@andrewg3196 Thanks for the feedback. Yes the instant feeling of blood rush is no doubt the return of blood and nerve input to the arm after compression. But the feeling of better function is always surprising. Like having more space, more muscle power/control, and more flow. It's amazing how much we get used to operating at 80%. I like the garden hose analogy where there's just slight compression reducing water output. Then when you remove the compression, there's more flow out the end. Nice to have that extra 20% back. You might need to repeat a few times to break the pattern. Best of luck and thanks again for sharing.
Love this so much more than the chiropractic video I saw suddenly jerking the neck. I have this problem plus TOS issues. The combination almost sent me to ER last week because this time it was different and worse due to sitting at a computer 40 hours, moving to a new house and pulling up flooring. One doctor told me stretch like flossing or brushing, don't miss a day! Oops, time to get back on track. I plan to do this on regular basis. Thank you.
Can't wait to try this. Been dealing with nerve pain deriving from my neck and down my arm, chest and upper back/lat. Could be my first rib, well she does cause pain, but we're actually talking about my actual first rib. Don't have a band at home and the belt thing looks uncomfortable.
Ilich Irias try something narrow and soft like a scarf or single sheet. Please let me know how it goes.
Any relief?
@@ProwlerDigital interesting I did get some relief. Pain did subside. I've continued to do this at least once a week. It helps.
This helped me a lot, thank you.
I am a rock climber. I had venous thoracic outlet syndrome and required emergency surgery. That arm is basically fine now. A year later, I seem to have some neurologic symptoms in my other arm likely TOS, but not at blood clot level. The issues are tightness and pain in the thoracic outlet, and some hand tingling. I've known it caused by tight scalenes and an elevated first rib, but I had no idea how to remedy it. My PT didn't even have suggestions. So, thank you! I used an old belt tonight, with a lot of success. I'm going to get a 3/4" thick black resistance band to make it more effective and efficient.
Thanks for sharing your story. It's common for symptoms to jump sides in the absence of any real structural problem because our brain's are really good at learning symptoms. This is one symptom behavior we use to diagnose nervous system sensitivity and start to work with symptoms in a new way. If there were life events that happened around the time of the opposite side flare up that were particularly stressful, and/or we reminiscent of when the original pain (surgery side) started, that's also good to know. The physical changes in the body are easy to treat and not dangerous. But it's worth looking at some of the other variables in your life too (the non body variables). Reach out via my website if you want to chat about it.
Did venous thoracic outlet syndrome give you cold hands? What surgery did you get?
@@allann7333 1) nope. My symptoms when I clotted were swelling, stiffness and warmth.My non-clot arm, which I was struggling with in the comment above, has some venous compression at full abduction, but no hand temp changes. It's currently completely asymptomatic. I do notice hand temp problems when stressed. Muscle relaxation and breathing long exhales can help with that.
2) I got the paraclavicular approach first rib resection and scalenectomy after the blood clot.
@@Shloopy420 I'm strongly considering surgery. I might have arterial thoracic outlet syndrome, if physical therapy doesn't work. Would you say the surgery was worth it?
great list of reasons causing the 1st rib elevation, thanks a lot
I think this may have just solved my problem, i was literally contemplating having the doctors do the first rib surgery but this might be able to slowly get me some progress
I've had issues with extreme discomfort in my left shoulder for years due to what I believe is my first rib. It started when I was doing pushups with bad form at home and after some time I started to get "numbness"/discomfort in my shoulder area and elbow on one side. It was so bad that it started affecting my sleep. I've been working out for some time but I have an extreme discrepancy in strength between my left and right side, something like 10-15kg difference in most exercises. I believe the biggest reason for this is due to poor control, it feels like my shoulder is internally rotated, and stability in that area and it's because of the first rib.
When my discomfort is at it's worst I can feel it just under my skin. I've experienced relief in that area twice, both times when stretching the pecs/shoulders. I felt a strong "tear", no pain, and warmth in my pec and shoulder area. After this I experienced better control and strength in the area but the relief went away after a day or two. So that's why I believe the reason is the compression of the brachial plexus.
I've taken a break from weight lifting but I'm starting again and I was planning on really focusing on pull ups and rows. I've done some lower trap activation and exercises but I'm having a really hard time with feeling those.
The discomfort has been so bad recently that it's taken me 6 hours to fall asleep but I tried this "exercise" during last night and felt some relief.
So now I'm planning on doing this everyday, at least before sleep, and is there anything else I should focus on? I believe my sleeping position also contributes, I sleep on my stomach with my left arm raised and under my pillow. I've tried to change that but it's really hard. Sorry for the long winded rant.
Hey sorry for the delay. Sounds like you're feeling that thoracic outlet area getting compressed due to neck tension and an elevated upper rib (1st and maybe 2nd). The 2nd rib is harder to correct but there is a way to do it. Maybe my next video. In the meantime, rows and pull ups really wont get those accessory muscle firing to take stress off of your neck. Look at my lower trap and serratus anterior videos, use the band to stretch your scalenes (like in this video), and notice if you're breathing shallow using your neck muscles (the scalenes are not supposed to help much with breathing unless you are exercising really hard). Focus on breathing deeper into your belly and diaphragm as much as you can. Sleeping positions aren't really going to hurt you, despite popular opinion. Don't worry too much about that. Also, take a look at your life stress day to day and see if that tracks with your symptoms. Happy to do a video consult with you at some point if you'd like.
@@charliemerrill i also have an elevated first rib and a lot of front side and back neck tension/spasms as a result. my story is very alike and i was also doing unilateral pushups with bad form, also assisted one arm pull ups which caused my first severe spasm in my levator scapulae, whereafter my problems started.
when i wake up in the morning and want to fall back asleep i always get a strong urge to lie on my stomach and tilt my head to the side, but i keep myself from doing so because it has caused severe spasms before which takes about a week to loosen up. the positive note of these single muscle spasms is that my overall tightness, radiating pain and arm numbness is completely gone, but a very painful muscle in trade. when the muscle spasm releases my overall pain comes back.. thanks for this exercice though it did relieve some tension and pain. i would also advice Max to quit working out his upper body until his problem is resolved. even when i do bicep curls with low weights it creates enormous tension in my neck, especially the front and sides. breathing through my belly also helped alot
my physiotherapist says he can fix my problem in 3 weeks if i give myself enough rest. meanwhile my pain and tension is extremely inconsistent. i can wake up with barely any pain just some tightness and get extreme pain throughout the day, or i can wake up with some pain and it goes away throughout the day. i am wondering if u have any more tips and tricks for do's and dont's, because i really want to know what causes more pain and what causes less pain. especially sitting in a bad chair or sofa is impossible for me because after a couple of minutes my neck becomes very painful
You did more for me in 6' & 34" than anybody has, no kidding.
I'm going to keep doing this. I've thought for well over a year now that maybe I had Parsonage Turner Syndrome. We shall see;)
CHECKEREDPAST Last thank you so much for sharing. It brings me great joy to think that I've had such an impact on your body with my video. Please stay in touch regarding your progress.
Every single muscle and rib are a major issue for me, as I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I am very unstable and unbalanced everywhere. I sublux many times a day. My PT taught me this technique 3.5 years ago! BUT! I look forward to trying it as you've described. I tend to overdue bc my pain is pretty agonizing, so I don't distinguish where I should stop very well. I think your description is really going to help me figure that out, finally! AND, Idkw but i never thought of the rib and scalenes associated with carpal tunnel! thank you for all the great info!!
Same
Greatly appreciative of your video and for sharing your knowledge with me! You've taught me so much. Ive had hand symptoms for a couple years that change a lot. Hand coldness, elbow and pinky side tingling, index finger symptoms and "nerve tightness". It has really taken over my life.
I believe I got index finger issues from mousing a lot in the past, like a lump on my flexor tendon, where most get it with trigger finger. When mousing I get this tightness feeling in the lump area, but also pain on the opposite side of the finger, on the back of my hand. Just 10 minutes and my hand is a gonner! I'm working on my posture and shoulders (thanks for your serratus/low trap videos!), but I have no idea how to smoothen out my wrist and my index finger locally. I've been doing what you described in "stability vod 66" for a month now, with nerve stretch and rubbing the tendon.
Any ideas what I could try to increase my index fingers endurance or reduce irritation with this activity? What kind of strengthening could I do? Id love being able to use a mouse again.
Thanks again, ~ Joe from Norway
Joegengstah glad you’re enjoying the videos. rather than doing isolated strength, I’m a big fan of doing more functional movements to condition your upper body. Pull ups, push ups, and overhead presses are a few I’m thinking of. Scaling them correctly can be helpful assuming they are challenging at first. For instance doing push-ups on knees or elevated on a table or bench. And using a band to assist the pull-ups. Beyond that we know that symptoms can be learned by the brain and some activities become conditioned to cause pain even though they are not dangerous or hurting you. The longer we have pain, the more we trust that the body is healed while the brain continues to run a “neural pathway” for those symptoms. Once you understand that and mousing no longer feels dangerous you can use graded exposure to progressively add mousing back into your day.
@@charliemerrill Thanks for the reply. That makes a LOT of sense what you described about the pain. I can use my hands for other things, and can go way longer before discomfort sets in. However if I even think about touching a mouse - BAM pain.... Have you experienced similar stories before, and a slowly increasing exposure like that working? I'll definately try it along with exercising more.
Im pretty deconditioned, and just started working out again. Been focused on aerobic (mountain hiking), postural and corrective exercises at first to help get my alignement and mobility in order- core, glutes, deep cervical flexors, thoracic spine mobility, rotator cuff face pull variations, reverse fly and rows. Also getting my lower traps and serratus online through your god given videos. It has been working, because the upper trap and levator scap pain I had, resting and exercise tension is going away. Also my upper trap compensation pattern went hasta la byebye, and I can do clean retractions and lower trap exercises now! Thanks so much! I'm getting back in shape because of your knowledge.
I can't pull myself up, but I can start doing negative pull ups until I improve? If not I can look for a band that will work. I'll start improving on my push ups and look into overhead presses also!
Mine comes from sleeping with my arm up. Also FYI laying down on a foam roll with your arms spread out for 15 min a day will also open that tunnel and relieve symptoms. Helps with kyphosis too
currently i cant even do my normal scalene stretch as my neck is in to much pain.
the way he unbuckled his belt without breaking eye contact 🥵
Does it affect SERRATUS ANTERIOR muscle ????
Thanks for this! Is it to be done several times a day and on both sides??
can this cause shortness of breathe?
Hi Meril Peformance, doing this has helped me to fall asleep without pain for the first time in a long time. The only issue is I can feel my rib popping back out every time I do physical activity.
What are the mechanics to fixing this permanently and secondly how can I do a video consult with you?
I have had this issue for 9 years today. All my doctors don’t seem to care or understand it, all my therapists think it’s just a weakness issue. I have has nerve tests and years of Physical therapy and nothing not even this work. The rib pops out all the time and stays. Just tried this multiple time and still nothing
Thanks for sharing 👍
have had rib issues for 5 plus yearsnow. yesterday it decided to act up and today is sheer pain. i hope this helps me
Do you help with this issue virtually ?
Great video!! Thanks! Is there a video on correct breathing for this issue?
Not yet but I'll consider making one. There's a trend in fitness toward talking about people breathing "wrong". I'm not a fan of this narrative. While it's helpful to be mindful of our breathing, we all know how to breath. Try a deep slow breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Place one hand around your neck to feel your scalenes and one hand on your belly to feel your air move down with your diaphragm. Aim to reduce neck tension when you inhale an maximize the deeper breath to your belly and pelvic floor. Shoot for some ratio similar to 5 seconds in/10 seconds out. It's very relaxing.
Merrill Performance thank you! I think Ive got a pinched nerve and went to the chiropractor who has done some “first rib adjustments” as well as this & it is helping slowly. I wonder if i also have some muscles not firing cause my left scalenes traps and rhomboid is constantly tight and painful, I am having some improvement but cant workout still due to severe muscle fatigue in my left shoulder. I used to pole vault and wonder if this made it worse. Anyways thank you so much for the videos!!
Best exercise against first rip problems.
What is your favorite exercise after visit a chiro...thx from Germany...perhabs facepulls???thx a lot
Thanks you very much for the helpful video appreciated gad bless you
Thanks 🌹🌹
So many of the causal reasons apply to me, I’m also a competitive swimmer and it sounds like 90 minute team practices could also be a cause?
Pam Conboy yes between the intensity of breathing (moving air and turning the head/neck) during hard efforts and the long overhead reach before the glide of each stroke, swimmers can indeed use this to keep their neck and shoulders healthy.
Is this for the back rib or front. I need the back one
Where do I get that band
You poop it out Mizz.
This is what I’m dealing with. TOS elevated first rib. Seems also abs bracing and chest breathing will do this - stress. So are the scalenes weak and short holding them in place? Cheers
thank you for this, I noticed that after you removed the band your right shoulder was noticeably more depressed than your left one...is this because of the release of the rib?
Gotta say though, having seen/played with lots of veins and arteries at my old healthcare jobs, that "warm feeling" in the arm is definitely from occluding the vein, not from the opening bloodflow.
I've directly experienced both. The occluded vein makes my arm feel heavy, hot and abnormal while the increased blood flow down the artery travels from top to bottom and feels wonderful with no discoloration.
@@Unavailable8923 Is it bad/dangerous if you do occlude a vein for a while?
@@ImpulsoCreativo9322 Yes there is a risk of blood clot. Look up Pagett-Schroeder for more info. However, it's not guaranteed. The "Muscle Mind Worx" youtuber was walking around with a blue arm for awhile and didn't develop a clot. But his doctors were surprised he didn't.
@@Unavailable8923 thanks. I ask because i had a massage and she was working on the scm. While she was kneading i felt warmth and pressure in my left chest area. Kind of weird feeling. It went away when she left the area but I dont want to think that I now have a risk
@@ImpulsoCreativo9322 That was just some pressure on or by the carotid artery backing up your circulation. I don't think that would cause a clot. Btw there is a nice SCM treatment where you grab it with the opposite hand and tug down on it. Feels nice. If you feel a plus, move your grip higher.
great video!
Thanks for the feedback!
Where can you buy the rubber bands?
online
Could the elevated rib be the reason for my trapped ulnar nerve (shoulder blade/arm pain and numbness in pinky)?
My trap has been tight and overworked for years - so much so that my arm is bigger, i've had elbow and forearm issues and I haven't been able to overhead press.
Gonna try it!
Thank you
I hope this makes mine pop/release. I've lived in hell for over a decade. I've been to specialists, Neurologists, neuro-surgeons, etc. Even tried 3 different chiros. All they did was the same exact assessment, All 3 had the same plan, crack my neck and crack my back, and then say "well, you ust have to keep coming back. We'll eventually get it." And i'm like i don't think so b/c y'all are all popping/cracking everywhere except where i say the pain/pinch is at. Same with neuro-surgeon. I had a wasted surgery on my neck, he cut TWO disks out and put a plate in there to "fuse" it. The fuse has never healed properly. But his whole reasoning from the beginning was that the pain/pinch/stiffness i feel on my back rightside under my traps/scalene and sometimes effecting down my arm , was that it has to come from a disk. I was told i can't have pain going out my neck and into shoulder, shoulder blade, scapula , into arm, unless a disk is compromised. And the surgery was done on front side. Even though i've said repeatedly over the yrs everything is on the back right. I've described it as it feels like the top rib or top 2nd rib where they connect into the flanged end of the vertebrae is kinked or bound up. And that something needs to move or shift or pop in order to release whatever is pinching or impeding on a nerve and/or blood vessels. But no, i'm told that don't make sense and that it has to be from the spine and the disks. Even though i know what i feel. I've tried tennis balls while against a wall, on the floor with knees bent and hips raised while rolling shoulder neck around trying to hope weight on the ball will land in an area to pop/move whatever is kinked up.
I've tried all the physical therapy stretches. Was told i needed to "strengthen" the neck and shoulders to make them stronger and then that would make it go away. Nope. Plus my neck and shoulders are strong. It's not like a head & shoulders are loosey goosey and bobbing around. I'm built like a slightly out-of-shape linebacker, and my traps and scalene are always super tight, but never sore, unless i really rub deep deep into them.
But i know everything feels like it's coming from that one area, and that something needs to move/shift/pop to release off of nerves(s) and/or blood vessels.
I've wanted to draw a mark on the area, put on a football helmet, and go pay a crackhead to hit me with a ballpein hammer and hopefully break whatever is in that area in order to force them to have to cut me open and look and fix the area, and hope that that will alleviate it.
Thanks for the video. I tried this but didn’t get much relief, but I think it’s because my pain has been going on for so long. I’ve had posterior shoulder/ neck/ upper back pain for about 2.5 years and have been to Pt for it but they just thought it was scapular/ rotator cuff weakness and scapular winging causing my discomfort. I’ve always had discomfort and clicking in the first rib and clavicle area but always just thought it was pec minor tightness. I may try to do PT again and get them to evaluate my first rib to see if it is truly the problem, as I suspect it is.
Glad you tried it. Sometimes it's a combo that you need. Often times, despite long term symptoms, the body is just fine but pain sticks around. My newer videos address this common phenomenon. Let me know if you want to consult via zoom and I can help you problem solve. Mperformance.com
@@charliemerrill hey i also wanna share that subclavius might have a role in this kinda of condition, if this muscle it's tight it pull the clavicles against the first rib and produce the sypmtoms of TOS. It's good to work on both, first rib mobilization, subclavius release and upper trapezius strenghten since people who got that problem offten time their upper traps are very weak lenghten and creating trigger points 24/7 and because of that the shoulders simply collapsing and so is collarbone.
Hi thanks for the great video ! How often should this be done ? And does this cause the shoulder to be higher than the other ?
You can do it daily but it's a means to an end. Once the rib can drop fully as you exhale, you shouldn't need to keep it up. Or just use it periodically because it feels good. I like the scalene stretch part as a stand alone for many athletes and shallow breathes (Rock climbers and such). Sometimes the high rib side shoulder will look higher. But not always. The rib mobility is different from the scapular/shoulder blade position. Please let us know how it goes for you.
When i diagonally tilt my head back to the right I feel this sharp pain beneath my collar bone. Is this something that could be caused by an elevated first rib? Also I notice that when I hold my first rib down while tilting my head backwards it seems much easier to do. Not completely painfree but pretty close. As soon as I remove the strap, and tilt back again, it is pretty much right where I left off again. Any thoughts?
Hey Charlie, could other things cause the Ribcage as a whole to be elevated? Closing the area for the thoracic outlet nerves?
Postural tilts, scoliosis etc?
This looks phenomenon tends to be caused by shallow breathing, fear, stress, anxiety which become habitual and are subconscious. So the rib loses mobility when you exhale this decreasing space in the thoracic outlet til mobility is restored. It’s really only the upper 2 ribs they affect the TO. I suppose it’s possible that posture elsewhere might affect the upper two ribs. More likely the neck, scapula, and shoulder. But case by case sure. It’s be a rare phenomenon that those other things are relevant though.
Thank a lot for your reply. I had TOS decompression surgery and even without the first rib, there is this huge grinding sound that could only be from my second rib that doctors are astounded by
I’m based in the UK. And I’m trying to seek advice.
Do you do zoom consultation, so I could ask you some questions (I will pay Ofcourse) I’ve got quite a crazy story for you in case you do. Any info on the second rib position would be very helpful.
Can first rib problems cause neck stiffness for two years and upper back pain?
roger scott Thanks for the question. First rib dysfunction is often a part of what causes neck pain whether it’s chronic or acute. Often, but not always, first rib issues will create some downstream problems in the shoulder, elbow, or hand including numbness in tingling. however the science tells us more and more that long-standing problems with pain are not just a problem with the body and the soft tissues. Please watch some of my newer videos to help you better understand what I mean. I suggest you consult with someone locally to help you problem solve or feel free to connect via my website at Mperformance.com If you like to do a virtual consult. I’m also starting another Instagram feed called themerrillmethod to talk more about the body and mind connection. Please follow me there for more.
roger scott bro i have the same stiffness in my neck and i think its my 1st rib.. did you take treatment?
@@TheGonzaCRC I did, the chiro helped a bit but still have major neck restriction. My mri shows no arthritis or disc problems
Good video, where can I buy the bands like you use?
danny ballerini thanks for the question and the kind words. You can buy these bands from Rogue Fitness.
www.roguefitness.com/rogue-monster-bands
You want the green #3 width for this and many other mobility exercises. They are about 40 inches long.
My physio told me to do this 3 times x 3 a day. It really helps but only for about 10 mins.
GQ 2611 That means it’s only a small piece of the puzzle. Work with your physio to address some of the other factors that may be contributing including your breathing pattern, shoulder mobility, neck stability/posture and shoulder blade stability, Stiffness through your thoracic spine Should also be addressed. Sometimes correcting the first rib is a magical fix but often there are other variables that need to be addressed at the same time.
@@charliemerrill I had cage fusion of C5/6 in May of last year. I had nerve root compression and put surgery off for 4 years untiI I could no longer cope with the pain. I was symptom free for 6 months apart from my thumb and finger remaining numb. The next finger is also numb but tingly, my wrist spasms and sticks for a second if I bend it back, my elbow hurts, tricep, shoulder, all that area and if I reach my arm round to say scratch my back, my arm feels dead for a few seconds. I am waiting on another MRI and I'm praying I won't need further surgery. Thank you so much for replying and so quickly, hardly anyone on RUclips does this.
@@GQ-yj5oy sounds like your fusion went very well. One thing we know about pain is it starts to live in our nervous system (brain and spinal cord) so that the longer we have it, the less it’s due to tissue damage and structural problems. I hope you’ll strongly consider surgery as a very last option. I have lots to share about chronic pain that you might find helpful. If you’re interested, reach out via my website and let’s have a phone call so I can share more. You’ll find my contact info at Mperformance.com
@@The_Kirk_Lazarus I live in the UK and we don't have them here. We have Orthopaedic surgeons, Physiotherapists and Chiropractors. My surgeon is an Orthopaedic Surgeon that specialises in only the spine. He is the best there is here and he warned me never to go near Chiropractors as they can do more harm than good in some patients, as without an MRI scan, they have no idea of exactly what is going on in your spine.
I have had follow up MRI and my neck and previous fusion look good which is a huge relief, as there is no way I would be getting my neck re-opened for another fusion. I saw my Physiotherapist on Friday, and it seems I have double crush syndrome. My 1st rib has popped up and is causing the nerve compression in my brachial plexus, and it appears I have Carpal Tunnel syndrome too. I had a steroid injection (with no added local anaesthetic) into my carpal tunnel and it seems to have helped the pain in my hand a bit, although I'm not sure if it's possibly a placebo effect. I have that many different types of pain, levels of numbness and various sensations going on from my shoulder right down to my finger tips, that it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where the pain is. I will continue to do the exercise for my neck that is shown in the video, it really does help if done correctly, and will continue visits to the Physiotherapist. He is so good, I feel so much better after seeing him but it's short-lived. Fingers crossed it sorts things out in my neck anyway. I have had severe nerve pain for over six years, and although it's the same type of pains, the dermatome pattern is different for each area, which is why the doctor knew it wasn't residual pain from my C5/6 nerve compression. As I'm sure everyone who has experienced any type of nerve pain will know, it's soul destroying. I would love to stop taking medication and get some normality back. You don't realise when you are young the importance of looking after your spine, and when you do the damage has already been done. I dread to think how awful kids necks will be in years to come from constantly looking at their phones!! Many thanks for taking the time to reply.
Can this cause the clavicle to pull down?
Sometimes the clavicle sits low because people have poor scapular control, tight lats/subscap/pecs, or overlong upper traps. This can happen with an elevated 1st rib and the compression can be a bit higher. They don't always happen together, but the space between the 1st rib and clavicle will be significantly smaller.
@@charliemerrill exactly!
A PT told me I had this but I’m not so sure. Whenever I roll my shoulders back and down I get a lot of crunching near the superior angle of back of the shoulder blade. It’s also very tight and causes pain esp on my left side. I sleep on my stomach a lot so I think this has to do with it. I also have rounded shoulders. Do you know what this crunching and pain and tightness is and how to fix is?
There's nothing to fix, luckily, That's just your shoulder blades rubbing over your rib. As you get better control and position of your blades, that will ease. Though some is still normal. Watch my serratus anterior and low trap videos. CrossOver symmetry especially and get good at doing those movements with or without bands. Use the foam roller to open up your pecs and mid back and your nerves (more recent videos) and you should be good to go. Thanks for watching.
Do I have this because when I put my arms out in front of me I noticed that I can see the tunnel that comes out on my left but doesn’t show on my right please respond I’ve been dealing with it since may and I don’t want it to get worse
Doo you mean you can see the area above your collar bone on the left but not the right (where symptoms are). Does it look congested on the symptomatic side? Did you try the correction and did it help. Happy to connect and talk more about it. Mperformance.com
Whenever I'm doing wall push for serratus or protracting my scapula I felt a compress feeling in my collar bone area? Should I be worried
No that feeling is normal, especially if you're not used to the movement. Has it changed at all since your comment?
very helpful! Thanks
Glad it was helpful, Denise! Thank you for following.
Great video!!
I went to a chiropractor for a hip issue but got roped into an extensive back program. After one violent motion, I had pain next to my shoulder blade and I adapted my posture to compensate. My shoulder is now impinged and unstable.
Is this a rib thing do you think?
Thanks for the feedback. I’m so sorry to hear about your experience. The first rib could be a part of your adaptive pattern and there’s no harm in trying To correct it this way. For some people this will significantly reduce their symptoms. Often times people get numbness and tingling or other symptoms in their arm when the 1st rib is elevated. If this doesn’t take care of it, I would recommend seeing a manual physical therapist who can evaluate and treat you.
Why fucking first ribs is elevated ????