Standing at the long edge of the bench or stool on the contralateral side
Position of the patient:
Upright sitting position at the short edge of the bench
Patient’s shoulder at the same height as the therapist’s shoulder
Patient puts the hands in their neck and the elbows together
Hand placement:
Establish contact with the patient’s upper arm on the contralateral side by placing an arm above the patient’s elbows
Thenar eminence of other hand fixates T3 into ventrocaudal direction
Confirm fixation by asking the patient to slouch a little until movement is felt at T3
For lower segments, fixating hand moves down until T5 is reached
Movement:
Maximal homonymous 3D movement with equal components of flexion, ipsilateral lateral flexion and ipsilateral rotation
To test each component of intervertebral motion, slightly move out of the end-range and now test flexion between T2 and T3 by pushing the spinous process of T3 ventrocaudally
To assess rotation, move on to the ipsilateral transverse process of T3. Be aware that the transverse process in the thoracic spine is about 1-2cm higher than the spinous process of the same level. Then, move it ventrally with the thenar eminence or thumb
For the lateral flexion component, place the thumb ipsilaterally between the spinous processes of T2 and T3 and move the patient’s thoracic spine into lateral flexion with the upper arm
