How to Fix Rib Flare with Simple Exercises

Do your lower ribs jut out, especially when you lie down or during certain activities? This is called a rib flare. While it doesn’t cause pain, it can affect your mobility.  

Fortunately, there’s good news: your rib position can adjust over time through specific exercises. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to exercises that can help correct rib flare, using straightforward language for everyone to understand.

1. Relaxing the Back Muscles

First, we’ll start with an exercise to relax the muscles around your ribcage, creating the right conditions for correction.

What You Need: A pad or cushion.

Steps:

• Lie on your stomach.
• Place a pad under your lower ribs and pubic bone.
• Position your arms close to your chest, with hands near your collarbones.
• Look forward slightly.
• Breathe in silently through your nose, then out through your mouth. As you exhale, imagine sinking into the pad.

Frequency: 3-5 sets of 20 breaths, twice daily, for a couple of weeks.

2. Press Up Exercise

Next, we’ll introduce a gentle pressing movement to teach being upright WITHOUT flaring the ribs. 

Setup: Same as the first exercise, but form a heart shape with your hands, palms facing down.

Steps:

• Use the bony part of your hand (near your pinky) to gently press your body up, keeping your lower ribs and pubic bone on the pad.
• Avoid lifting your ribs as you press up.

Frequency: 5 sets, holding for five breaths each, twice daily for two weeks.

3. Abdominal Engagement

Now, we’ll work on engaging your abs to help pull the ribs inward without causing other issues.

What You Need: Just your body.

Steps:

• Lie with your hips, knees, and shoulders at 90 degrees, forming a triangle with your forearms.
• Take a calm breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
• As you exhale, press your torso up slightly by pushing through your forearm and knees.
• Keep the effort moderate, around 3 or 4 out of 10.

Frequency: 5 sets of 5 breaths, twice daily for 2-4 weeks.

4. Advanced Movement for Rib Flare

To further challenge your body and correct rib flare, try this advanced movement.

Position: Get on all fours, keeping your arms straight.

Steps:

• Look down and start in a relaxed position.
• Breathe in through your nose.
• On the exhale, press your torso away from the ground, focusing on kneecap pressure and the base of your index finger.

Frequency: 5 sets of 5 breaths, twice daily for 2-4 weeks.

Variations: If the exercise becomes too easy, try lifting your knees slightly off the ground or perform hand taps to increase the challenge.

Here is how to do the knee lift I (don’t tuck though, it’s an older video)

And the taps:

5. Bear Crawl

As the last step in our progression, we introduce movement to solidify the corrections made.

Final Step: Before moving, ensure you can hold the bear position comfortably.

Steps:

• Pretend you’re crawling under a low tunnel.
• On the inhale, press one hand and the opposite foot firmly into the ground.
• Move backward first, then return to the starting position.
• Perform this crawl slowly for 3 sets of 10 yards or meters.

Frequency: 3 sets of 10 yards or meters, focusing on form and control.

Conclusion

Correcting rib flare involves more than just physical adjustments; it’s about enhancing your overall mobility and confidence.

Remember, consistency is key to seeing results. Start with the basics and gradually progress to more advanced exercises. Your ribs, and your body, will thank you for the gentle, yet effective, approach to improvement.