The human body needing a service?

May 15, 2023

Have you heard of the human body needing a service?


Every vehicle requires service at least twice a year to run efficiently without any problems. So, does the human body require a service? Well, YES!! The human body needs adequate fluid, sleep, and nutrition to be healthy and function normally from a physiological aspect. Similarly, the human body structurally needs to be mobile and have sufficient mobility to function easily.


So, what is mobility?

Mobility is commonly referred to as a person’s overall range of motion within the joints. Often mobility is misunderstood for static stretching. The difference is that static stretching is referred to stretching a muscle by using body weight against limb support, i.e., lengthening a muscle. In comparison, mobility requires the muscles and soft tissues acting on the joint to have dynamic flexibility, strength, and stability.


Why is mobility important?

In brief, mobility is essential for a positive quality of life and daily function. Research has identified that reduced mobility is responsible for declined functional ability, poor psychological health, and increased risk of injury. Have you ever noticed walking longer distances or upstairs feels like a struggle? This may be due to decreased lower back, hip, and ankle mobility. You may refer to this as being stiff, this is because the joints responsible for gait don’t have an adequate range of motion to function.


What are the benefits of mobility?

Mobility prevents the risk of injury, improves sports performance, posture, functional movement, sustained physical independence, and improved stress levels, to name a few.


How to service your body?

There is no set rule on how! However, depending on the occupation and lifestyle, daily mobility training is recommended to ‘run’ better. Add the exercises below to your toolkit to ensure your body runs like a V8. Complete each exercise for 3 sets of 30-60 s. otherwise click ME to access mobility, stability and flexibility exercise videos.


Mobility exercise:

  • Cat cow pose
  • Thread the needle
  • Inchworms
  • Lumbar extension
  • Thoracic extension
  • Hip 90/90 switch.
  • Prone thoric flexion
  • Frogs stretch and rotation.
  • Child pose
  • Front to back leg swing.



REFERENCE:

Behm, D. G., Blazevich, A. J., Kay, A. D., & McHugh, M. (2016). Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism, 41(1), 1-11.

Storm, J. M., Wolman, R., Bakker, E. W., & Wyon, M. A. (2018). The relationship between range of motion and injuries in adolescent dancers and sportspersons: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 287.

Brahms, C. M., Hortobágyi, T., Kressig, R. W., & Granacher, U. (2021). The interaction between mobility status and exercise specificity in older adults. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 49(1), 15-22.

Moscão, J. C., Vilaça-Alves, J., & Afonso, J. (2020). A review of the effects of static stretching in human mobility and strength training as a more powerful alternative: Towards a different paradigm. Motricidade, 16(1), 18-27.

Iwata, M., Yamamoto, A., Matsuo, S., Hatano, G., Miyazaki, M., Fukaya, T., ... & Suzuki, S. (2019). Dynamic stretching has sustained effects on range of motion and passive stiffness of the hamstring muscles. Journal of sports science & medicine, 18(1), 13.

Ferrucci, L., Cooper, R., Shardell, M., Simonsick, E. M., Schrack, J. A., & Kuh, D. (2016). Age-related change in mobility: perspectives from life course epidemiology and geroscience. Journals of gerontology series a: biomedical sciences and medical sciences, 71(9), 1184-1194.


Mansoor Sarvari

Workers Compensation Specialist (AEP, ESSAM)

Exercise Rehabilitation Services ‑ WA 

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