Have you ever noticed how you feel after sitting or driving for a long period of time? When you try to stand up or peel yourself out of the car, you feel stiff and achy, immediately you want to stretch to reset.
On the other hand are you struggling to walk with a normal size step, or find yourself walking slower, or struggling to get out of bed in the morning or getting onto the floor to pick something up due to the fact that you have lost mobility.
Mobility is a crucial part of our health and well-being and is needed by us to maintain a good quality of life as we age. It allows us to complete our daily tasks and to help us navigate our environment, from walking over different surfaces, to climbing the stairs and being able to reach into that top cupboard in the kitchen.
Reduced mobility can also lead to falls. where research shows differences in strength, endurance, balance, balance and stability between younger and older people.
In Sports we look at improving mobility for performance this maybe on an individual basis as it is quite complex to measure how mobility or flexibility helps with their movement as other factors like motor control and strength will also play a role.
As we age, we see changes in muscle loss, joint stiffness, balance issues, but much less so if we are following some sort of program of exercise to slow the process down. Of course, some medical conditions may influence what we can do.
So, what is mobility – the ability of our joints to move – but it can be much more complex than just needing to stretch. Where Strength, flexibility, motor control, body awareness, co-ordination - all of which can influence your mobility.
Common areas you might notice restrictions in mobility at first are the hips and shoulders and neck but anywhere in the body that has a joint we may see restrictions over time.
Mobility can be improved through different modes of exercise, depending on the individual’s health, exercise level and needs. An older person who has not really done much exercise in their life may want to start with some joint mobility exercises, but a younger person may use some resisted exercises to improve mobility. Weights are often used to increase mobility. You will also see people using foam rollers and massage balls and bands for both mobility and stretching. Evidence to support some of these methods are not always strongly supported as physiological mechanisms are still being discussed to how they could be having an effect. On an individual basis people will comment on their effectiveness to help muscles, mobility flexibility and recovery.
Here is a simple mobility routine without equipment that we may use to help improve joint mobility.
These exercises are shown for demonstration purposes only and may not be right for you to try.
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