Mobility

There’s no mistaking that the ability for someone to comfortably move through various ranges of motion is important. No matter what your fitness aims, it is vital for each and every person to be able to move without pain, and to move in a way that supports their life.

Just like our fitness prescriptions, our take on mobility work is that it should be individualised to cater to the needs of each person. While there are common issues we see with mobility, no two people have the exact same set of contributing factors.

We look at mobility through the lens of nervous system and fascial tension. There are numerous ways and tools in which to release someone’s fascia to increase functionality, but the primary way we approach it is from the standpoint that the nervous system is what ultimately dictates the limits on the system, including fascial health and tension.

We look at improving mobility in two key ways:

• Reducing overall load on the central nervous system – nutritional (including hydration), digestive health, emotional, overall training load (volume and intensity), toxicity in the system. This is about assessing the overall terrain of a person’s system.

• Novel movement and dynamic tensioning – moving fascia into ever slightly increasing ranges for short amounts of time in a way that appears non-threatening to the nervous system. This method allows us to almost trick the nervous system into feeling more comfortable and safe with expanding ranges. Dynamic tensioning refers to loading and stretching muscle fascia in natural movement patterns to increase the slide-ability and elasticity of fascial surfaces.

We also use a variety of tools and methods to work on mobility including PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation), trigger point work,  static stretching, band distraction and Gua Sha therapy.

What else to consider with mobility issues

In some cases, tightness of muscle fascia may not be a bad thing – it provides stability for the joint, often preventing long term wear and tear, and helps with reflex movement. Over-stretching, over-treating and hyper-mobility weakens the ability of the nervous system to utilise the fascia dynamically and functionally to support day to day movement and athleticism.

It is important to consider not only a person’s mobility issues, but also their individual instabilities and structural imbalances that may be affecting fascial tension in the body. Increased ranges of motion generally mean decreased stability in the joint- the two go hand in hand, and one must never be addressed without consideration of the other.

When assessing mobility, we’re not just looking for absolute values and huge ranges. We’re looking for balance from side to side to ensure minimal twist and pull on the fascia in irregular or imbalanced directions, as well as the body’s ability to conduct electrical current through the fascia itself.