UNDERSTANDING RIB FLARE
by Alison Brunson, PT, DPT, CSCS, PCES
You’ve been seeing "How to Fix your Rib Flare” online everywhere. What is a rib flare? Should you try to fix it?
A rib flare refers to the lower ribs protruding outwards. It can be a result of poor posture, weak abdominals muscles, or reduced shoulder mobility. It is not always associated with a problem, so should you fix it? It depends.
What causes a rib flare?
It can be caused by a variety of factors, but in the case of postpartum women - typically the rib cage flares when the internal organs are moved around to make room for the growing baby. Sometimes it returns to normal postpartum, sometimes not.
Throughout your pregnancy, your growing belly makes it harder and harder to breathe full, complete breaths. Now that you are postpartum, it’s important to get full movement, deep, 360* breathing back & out of the stuck, shallow breathing with minimal movement of your rib cage.
INHALE = your diaphragm should contract down and the rib cage should widen
EXHALE = the rib cage should narrow
A priority when improving rib flare is working on your exhale. Getting a good exhale can set you up for a good inhale… improving the full 360* movement of your ribcage
In other non-postpartum people, a rib flare can be caused by ineffective breathing patterns, poor posture, weak abdominals, reduced mobility of the shoulder or back.
What can I do to fix it?
Address the muscle imbalances or mobility issues.
These exercises are set up for a bilateral sided rib flare. Change the exercise if you have left or right sided flare.
For every exercise, hold the exhale & inhale for 3-5 seconds each, repeat 5 breaths
Abdominal Strength:
Crunch: Slight crunch, bring down left ribs more to engage left abdominals (repeat with right side, or focus on one specific side if rib flare is present only on one side)
Side Planks: Left side planks (lifting and tucking in left rib), repeat other side
Breathing Strategies:
“Ha” Breathing: “Ha” sound, overpressure with hands to bring ribs in and down + HOLD
Do not perform if you have osteoporosis (or other bone density issues)
Child’s Pose Breathing for Back Body Expansion: Laying on foam roller while in child’s pose. Great to use for a tight serratus, upper trap, or poor back expansion
90-90 breathing: lay on your back with your feet on a wall in a 90* angle.
INHALE: 360* expansion, ribs expand // EXHALE: ribs gently come down and in.
Disclaimer—
Alison Marks Brunson Physical Therapy PLLC owns and manages this Website. The information provided on this Website is not medical or professional healthcare advice. It is only for informational and educational purposes. Please contact your primary care provider to discuss your health concerns, diagnoses, or treatments. In a medical emergency, call 911. Your website-related activities and communications do not create a provider-patient relationship between you and us and do not create a duty for us to follow up with you. To learn about our services, please contact us directly.
