IS YOUR MOBILITY EQUATION BALANCED?
by Richard Symister @ MovEvolution Physical Therapy
MOBILITY OF THE 40+ YEAR OLD ATHLETE AND DANCER
Joint Motion + Flexibility + Circulation (Chi) + Nerve Transmission + Motor Control = MOBILITY
When it comes to the 3 P’s: Pain, Prevention and Performance, taking time to screen and treat your own MOBILITY dysfunctions, restrictions and “hot spots” can do wonders. [See the research below]:
- Improve circulation
- Increase joint movement
- Decrease soft tissue and joint pain
- Improve movement and motor control
- Improve nerve firing, thereby improving coordination, reaction
- time and balance
- Increase longevity
If we’d take the time to discover the correct, individual “mobility dosage” (how often, how long, how intense, repetitive, length of rest time, and progression) , we’d probably see and feel the difference in our movement, activity level, recovery, moods, and temperament. We take the time with other aspects of our training–strength and conditioning, nutrition, and recovery. But far too often, we either rush our mobility work, focus on just one aspect of mobility (stretching), or perform the same routine without matching the body’s current needs.
Remember that mobility work is not just to make you feel better or looser after a workout, or to mark “stretching” quickly off your checklist. Mobility work is meant to correct a problem, increase your performance and help you to avoid injury. Let me repeat the equation above:
Joint Motion + Flexibility + Circulation (Chi) + Nerve Transmission + Motor Control = MOBILITY
Is your equation imbalanced?
- Do your joints move fluidly through normal ranges of motion without impingement and restrictions?
- Do your muscles bend freely over joints?
- Do you have any issues with blood flow restrictions, post-workout or chronic inflammation?
- Do electrical signals travel at the right speed to and from muscles for timely reaction, balance and proprioception?
- Does your brain correctly and efficiently coordinate the muscles and limbs involved in the performance of a motor skill?
Contact us for a Mobility and Movement session. Learn your faults and get some well-needed body work.
See the RESEARCH on Mobility and the Older Athlete/Dancer.
heal. move MOBILIZE. evolve.