How’s your mobility?

Mobility is not the same as flexibility. Flexibility is the ability of muscles, ligaments, and tendons to passively stretch. Mobility is the joint's ability to actively move through its full range of motion. Good mobility requires flexibility in the muscles and other soft tissues surrounding the joint, but it also requires strength and stability. You can be flexible but lack mobility.

Recent studies have found a correlation between joint health and longevity; also, that people with lower limb mobility are less likely to suffer from falls in their older years. Here are some tests for checking your mobility:

• Neck: (1) Rotate your head right and left, without turning your shoulders. You should be able to turn your head 80 degrees, or just short of your shoulder. (2) Look up: you should be able to gaze directly at the ceiling. Bring our chin down toward your chest. It should be an inch or two away at most. (3) Bend your neck sideways to lower your right ear to your right shoulder. Your ear should be about halfway to your shoulder.

• Shoulders: You should be able to reach your hand behind your back and touch your mid back with your thumb.

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  Wrists: Starting at chin level, place your hands together with your palms touching and fingers pointed up. Keeping your palms together and elbows out and parallel to the ground, lower your hands down to your belly button.

• Back: Standing with your feet hip-width apart and keeping your knees straight, slide your fingertip down your thigh. You should be able to touch the outside of your knee. (Do both sides.)

• Hips: Sitting in a chair or lying on your back, pull your knee (left or right) into your chest. Your thigh should touch your abdomen and chest. (Do both sides.)

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  Knees: Standing on your left foot, place your left hand on a wall or chair for balance if needed. Use your right hand to bring the heel of your right foot behind you, toward your butt. Your heel should touch your butt. Repeat on the other side.

• Ankles: Facing a wall with your toes touching it, bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the ground. Your knees should be able to touch the wall without your heels rising. If this is easy take one step away from the wall and repeat.

Here’s a link to exercises to improve your mobility. Here's one from an earlier blog of mine for improving your flexibility. Apologies to those who have already seen this information in The New York Times.

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