Why So Many Active Adults Still Struggle With Rib Flare and Shoulder Pain: It Started With Old Cueing & Life’s Trauma Events

By Patty Jimenez Hamilton — Mind Body Fusion

INTRODUCTION: THE PATTERNS WE DON’T REALIZE WE CARRY. 

For decades, dancers, yogis, Pilates practitioners, aerobics fans, and active adults were taught cues that looked beautiful externally but created deep internal compensation patterns:

What NOT TO SAY:

  • “Pull your ribs in.”

  • “Lift your chest.”

  • “Shoulders down and back.”

  • “Belly tight!”

  • “Squeeze your glutes.”

These cues shaped an entire generation — including me. But these same cues also created:

  • rib flare

  • shoulder winging

  • thoracic stiffness

  • neck tension

  • chronic rotator cuff overload

  • lat dominance

  • breath dysfunction

And when you add car accidents, surgeries, dance posture, yoga habits, and decades of compensations?

You get a perfect storm of shoulder dysfunction.

MY STORY: BALLET CUES, ACCIDENTS & MODERN BIOMECHANICS

Even as a strong, active 70-year-old, I discovered I was still living inside old ballet and fitness cueing patterns:

  • ribs lifted and flared

  • chest over-opened

  • thoracic spine locked

  • upper traps gripping

  • lats dominating

  • shoulder blades depressed

  • scapula winging

  • pelvis tucking

  • breath shallow and upward

Add in car accidents, whiplash, a shoulder dislocation, fascia changes, surgical recoveries, and overtraining… and all of it culminated in:

  • supraspinatus tendinosis

  • bursal surface tearing

  • AC joint irritation

  • Some shoulder winging in full pushups

  • rib flare

My MRI simply confirmed what my body had been whispering for years. And I had to go back and re-learn everything — with humility.

WHY OLD CUEING CREATED MODERN SHOULDER PROBLEMS

1. “Shoulders Down and Back”

This cue:

  • turns off serratus anterior

  • depresses the scapula

  • compresses the rotator cuff

  • blocks upward rotation

  • causes immediate winging

This cue alone has caused more shoulder problems than it ever fixed.

2. “Pull Your Ribs In” (the old way)

What actually happened was the opposite:

  • ribs flared up

  • spine overextended

  • diaphragm shut down

  • core disengaged

  • serratus lost its anchor

This is one of the biggest drivers of chronic shoulder winging.

3. “Squeeze Your Glutes”

This cue:

  • tucks the pelvis

  • locks the lumbar spine

  • reduces thoracic mobility

  • increases rib flare

  • disrupts natural breath

The shoulder cannot function well above a locked-up spine.

THE MISSING LINK: THE RIB CAGE IS THE FOUNDATION OF SHOULDER HEALTH

When the ribs flare, several things happen:

  • serratus anterior cannot anchor

  • the scapula loses its base

  • winging becomes inevitable

  • lats tighten and dominate

  • breath rises into the neck

  • the rotator cuff works overtime

Healthy shoulder mechanics require:

  • ribs gently back

  • sternum softly lifted

  • lats soft

  • scapula gliding upward

  • serratus wrapping the ribs

  • breath expanding back ribs

This combination is the key to solving winging.

HOW TO FIX SHOULDER WINGING: MODERN CUES THAT ACTUALLY WORK

1. Soften Your Lats

Lat gripping pulls the scapula down and out — the root of winging.

2. Wrap the Shoulder Blade Around Your Ribs

Not a pinch… a glide. This activates serratus immediately.

3. Reach From the Side of Your Ribs (Not the Shoulder)

Transforms all arm movement.

4. Allow Upward Rotation

This prevents impingement and protects the supraspinatus.

5. Ribs Gently Back

Restores serratus leverage and stabilizes the shoulder blade.

6. Push the Floor Away

In planks, down dog, chaturanga — this instantly reduces winging.

7. Breathe Into Your Back Ribs

The hidden foundation of shoulder stability.

WHAT TO AVOID: OLD CUES THAT MAKE WINGING WORSE

  • “Shoulders down.”

  • “Pinch your shoulder blades.”

  • “Lift your chest.”

  • “Squeeze your glutes.”

  • “Neck long” (in a rigid way)

  • “Ribs in!” (the old ballet version)

These cues cause winging — every single time.

DANCER-SPECIFIC WINGING CORRECTIONS

1. Widen your upper back before lifting your arms.
2. Turn out from the thigh, not the glutes.
3. Let the scapula glide upward in high arm lines.
4. Initiate arabesque from length, not chest lift.
5. Let the arms float — no gripping through the lats.

YOGA-SPECIFIC WINGING CORRECTIONS

1. Down Dog: Push the floor away + wrap ribs upward.
2. Plank: Slide shoulder blades forward one inch.
3. Chaturanga: Heart forward + shoulders lifted.
4. Arm Lifts: Allow natural upward rotation.
5. Vinyasa: Breathe into the back ribs through transitions.

WHY COACHES NEED COACHES (Short Insert)

Even after decades of teaching movement, I still have blind spots.

I can cue ribs, serratus, breath, scapula, and alignment perfectly for others —
but that doesn’t mean my own nervous system automatically does it.

Knowledge lives in the brain.
Motor memory lives in the nervous system.

We can’t always:

  • see our own winging

  • feel our own rib flare

  • catch our old ballet posture

  • notice lat gripping

  • see ourselves from behind

My Pilates instructor still catches subtle patterns I miss.
And I am grateful every time.

Because even coaches need coaches.

THE EXERCISES THAT FIX THE PATTERN

1. Side-Lying Open Books
Thoracic mobility + rib control + scapular glide.

2. Serratus Wall Slides (Tiny Range)
Upward rotation training.

3. Wall Long-Lever Reaches
Immediate serratus activation.

4. Prone Y Lift
Lower traps + sternum lift.

5. Thoracic Pillow Extensions
Restores mobility and reduces upper-back tension.

6. Back-Body Breathwork
Rebalances ribs, diaphragm, and shoulder function.

THE TAKEAWAY

It wasn’t age.
It wasn’t weakness.
It wasn’t inconsistency.

It was patterning — learned, practiced, and reinforced for decades.

Old cueing created the pattern.
Trauma and tension reinforced it.
Modern biomechanics can reverse it — at ANY age.

Your body is adaptable.
Your nervous system is plastic.
Your movement future is upgradeable.

You can always learn a better way.