Mobility has become an up-and-coming buzz word in both the exercise and wellness community. While these buzz words can sometimes merit less attention, and often get lost in translation, mobility warrants exploration. To do that we need to ask questions such as, are mobility exercises all that important and, if so, what benefits are there to be gained by doing them?

What do people mean by mobility?

The term mobility can often be confused with flexibility. Mobility is less about your capacity to stretch deep into specific directions and more to do with how well you can engage your joints through their full ranges of motion properly. One of the biggest problems we see in the functional movement world is a person unable to properly execute a movement. This may be from the movement being painful, the presence of inflammation, injury, poor biomechanics, or just simply not knowing any better. Whatever the reason, the cost of not staying mobile can range from joint stiffness, slow and painful movement, joint degeneration, or injury.

How do I gain more mobility in my body?

Simply put, just move! Remember, things like yoga, CrossFit, basketball, spin classes, or any other activity you might think of, is based on specialized movement. While the ranges in joints that these activities utilize are generally safe, they only grant certain ranges in certain directions, and those may not be available to that person. One of the biggest deterrents to good mobility is just not knowing how movement should look. While there are great resources out there, having a guide can be super helpful. While most everyone wants to move well as they age, it is generally not on people’s radar when they are the most capable to commit. So, now is the time to get out there and get moving.

Ultimately, the cost of poor mobility is joint replacements, soft tissue injuries, inflammation, many of the repetitive stress pathologies we see, such as plantar fasciitis, torticollis, carpal tunnel syndrome, low back pain, or knee pain. Considering that poor mobility creates poor movement patterns, the list is potentially endless. Working with a skilled physical therapist, mobility expert, or skilled manual therapist with a grasp of functional movement can be a key to your moving well into the ages. Booking with one our skilled practitioners is a great place to start:

Charlotte location: Selwyn Park | Body Heal (bodyhealtherapy.com)

Harrisburg location: Harrisburg | Body Heal (bodyhealtherapy.com)