Why Mobility Matters
When you think of mobility what comes to mind?
The ability to move with freedom?
To move without pain?
Movement without limitations?
Healthy joints?
Mobility can encompass all these things.
Mobility is important, it allows you to live how you want. To do the activities you want-like play your favorite sports, play with your kids, garden, lift heavy things- with less wear & tear and less chance of injuries!
To get a better understanding of what mobility means on an kinesiology level and how to improve it, I asked coach Daniel what mobility really means, and why it matters.
Daniel’s main background is in massage and injury recovery. In the last year he has become a yoga teacher and personal trainer with the intention of teaching people about how important movement is in injury recovery and prevention.
What is mobility?
Mobility is the body's ability to move through our natural ranges of motion without pain or discomfort.
How can we increase our mobility?
We can increase our mobility by moving our body through these natural ranges of motion on a regular basis.
When we develop a regular mobility routine, our mind and body will adapt to these movement patterns and that end range will slowly increase with time.
If we don't practice taking our joints through these end ranges, then we will lose the function to perform these motions. This is where the saying "use it or lose it" can be applied.
What role does movement play in injury recovery and prevention?
When we lose the ability to move properly, that is when we are putting ourselves at risk of injury.
If certain parts of the body are immobilized, we will see other parts of the body will work hard to compensate for that immobilized area. This leads to a lot of strain on the compensating muscle and can result in injuries if it isn't addressed.
For people that have already been injured, mobility training is a great way to regain strength and function of the injured area. If no mobility training was done before the injury, you might even see increased ROM and functionality compared to before the injury.
What are the most common injuries people come to you with?
I commonly help clientele that have become injured through either repetitive stress movements or a part of the body being sedentary for long periods of time.
Whether your work requires you to do the same action throughout the day or to sit at a desk for 8 hours, our bodies typically don't adapt well to being in these positions for prolonged periods.
By identifying what parts of the body are being over or underused, we can develop a program that targets strengthening your weak areas and lengthening the tight areas.
As Daniel states, the most important thing to gain more mobility is to create a mobility routine. This means doing mobilizing of the joints daily.
What is something you recommend people be doing every day to prevent injury?
For most people that have not suffered any major injuries, I think doing 10 minutes of full body mobility training each morning and night is a good way to keep the body feeling healthy. For those who have suffered injuries, you may need more targeted work towards your problem area.
Why are you passionate about what you do?
I love sharing this knowledge with people and seeing them apply it in a way that brings them relief to their symptoms. I personally have suffered multiple injuries through sports and lifestyle.
Sharing my experiences and how I've been able to recover has been able to help others in similar situations gain the confidence that their body can return to a healthy, functional state. As I continue to learn more about the body and how important movement is for our health, the more I want to share it with family, friends, and the community.
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A big thanks to Daniel for sharing his knowledge and wisdom with our community. If you are interested in working with Daniel on injury prevention or treatment- schedule a free consult here.
its my Hope…That we can all live a mobile, happy, healthy life.
If you train at the Flow Shala… next time you take class, take note of your favorite warm up movements.
Our coaches incorporate mobility training into every warmup! You can always ask your coach after class what their favorite mobility moves are. See the schedule here to book your next class.
If you are overcoming injuries or want to prevent them, start working with a personal coach to craft a personalized mobility routine.
All bodies deserve mobility!
