A 59-year-old female patient of mine recently had a bout of mid back pain. The pain – concentrated in her lower mid-back – prevented her from playing tennis and golf. I treated her back pain with Cold Laser Therapy, soft tissue therapy, and joint mobilizations. I reminded her which stretches and exercises were right for her and her current situation. She was relieved after one visit, but it only lasted a few days. She had more lasting relief after the second visit. I doubled down on my recommendation that she include the various mobility exercises I recommend for everyone. She just emailed me saying that she feels “…so much better doing these mobility exercises. They really have made an enormous difference”.
This patient report came exactly when I was going to write this blog, titled: MOBILITY FIRST.
Why do I beat the drum of mobility exercising? It’s not that mobility exercises are a replacement for traditional strength training, cardio, or stretching. It’s that mobility is the foundation of all these other forms of exercise and maintaining mobility and joint health throughout our lives.
Mobility training focuses on the ability to move at each individual joint. Mobility training improves your mind-body connection, establishing motor control of your moving parts and the body as a whole.
Mobility training recognizes that many of life’s aches and pains stem from stiff joints, and poor movement patterns, resulting in repetitive strains in the areas you can move, and increasing stiffness in the areas you cannot.
Don’t just do mobility training. But, definitely do mobility training first. You wouldn’t build a house on a poor foundation. So, why would you build your body on stiff joints?!
Mobility training (and all exercise, for that matter) is a health choice that pays dividends in the long run.
If you don’t know where to start, call me, email me, visit my YouTube channel, and/or book a visit. I promise you it will be time well spent.
Here’s an example of a mobility routine focused on the spine: