T4 Syndrome

Have you ever had an ache between your shoulder blades when you’re sitting for long periods or doing certain chores around the house that require bending forward? Or maybe you’re getting funny symptoms in your arms/hands that don’t seem to follow any specific patterns? If so, you may need to get your T4 checked out!

The thoracic spine is an extremely important part of our body. It is an attachment site for many of our back and shoulder muscles and for our ribs as well. It also has a very strong relationship with our sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system. For us clinicians, the thoracic spine is a part of our clients we keep a big focus on to ensure and maintain an active healthy lifestyle.

While the thoracic spine has many unique roles, the same rules apply here when talking about subluxations. Issues here can have both local and body-wide consequences, but the T4 vertebra in particular is something different. Hypomobility (restriction) of the T4 can be directly linked to some very uncomfortable and increasingly common symptoms.

These include;Tenderness directly on the spine at the T4 levelAche and tightness of surrounding musclesPoor posture including rounded shouldersPins and needles, pain or swelling in either or both handsHead and neck achesManual therapy is the current gold standard treatment option for T4 syndrome, so there’s really no excuse for living with it long term!