mobilising
Just like stretches, but these techniques
are aimed at joints not muscle bellies.
What is mobilising?
It is the practice of making something movable or able to move.
When discussing the human body, we are referring to any activity that allows the musculoskeletal tissues to move. A perfect example is any dynamic warm-up activity. The idea of these activities is to warm-up the soft tissue, allowing them to effectively contract, lengthen and stabilise, thus allowing for improved movement of the joints.
Mobilising is important as it allows us to gain larger ranges of active motion. It helps us learn how to move correctly by training neuromuscular (nerve to muscle) connections.
By being able to move effectively, we are able to achieve better postural positions, reducing muscular fatigue and pain, plus reducing the risk of joint injury.
Mobilising activities are great to do after Self Myofascial Release and before strengthening and stretching activities.
This is an awesome activity to get your lower back rotating. It creates spinal rotation, which can help to reduce lower back stiffness.
Take it easy to begin with and then slowly increase the range of your movements, let your back warm-up before trying to drop as far is I do.
Watch out if you have any ligament or disc injuries in your lower back as this could aggravate the condition.
Four point kneeling is simply the position seen here, being on hands and knees.
From this position you can perform all the lower back motions (flexion, extension, rotation and lateral flexion movements of the lumber spine [lower back]). These movements help to improve the mobility of your lower back from a relatively safe position.
Remember, if you have any lower back injuries/damage, get your doctors or therapists approval before attempting this.
Four point kneeling is simply the position seen here, being on hands and knees.
From this position you can mobilise the hip joint well, without the risk of falling over 
These movements can help to reduce hip joint stiffness and immobility.
Use this hip gliding techniques if you find you get a “jamming” sensation in the front of the hip when pulling your knee to your chest.
The purpose of this techniques is to help the head of the femur to stay centralised in the hip joint (the acetabulum)
Check these out! Here I demonstrate how to mobilise your lower back from a standing position.
If your feeling stiff, sore and restricted in your lower back, these movements are great to get movement in your lumbar spine and the surrounding muscles.
As always, if you have damage to your lumbar spine or lower back muscles, be very careful performing these movements & do not perform them without medical advice.
This standing adductor mobilising technique helps you to warm the adductor muscles and increase you hip range of motion.
This sequence of movements targets the hip and lumber spine joints and are a great way to mobilise these areas.
Use them as a warm up for before sport and before hip and lower back (or any lower body) exercise.
More simple yet awesome mobility activities for the neck in a standing position.
Avoiding neck movement can cause neck problems. Practicing proper neck movement can reduce your risk of neck pain.
Be careful and do this seated if you suffer from dizziness.
Help improve the movement of your spine by following along with these simple movement patters to teach your body that it can move.
Continue to strengthen your deep neck muscles and reduce fatigue. Mobilise and coordinate your neck movements and improve your posture.
Performing neck mobility in 4 point kneeling is not only a safe position, but it also adds a strength component as your head is dragged forward by gravity.
Begin working on your upper back mobility in this safe kneeling position.
Don’t get stuck in a slumped forward flexed position.
Get out your foam roller and increase your middle and upper back extension by relaxing over it.
Use a slightly deflated plastic ball under your upper back (thoracic) spine. This helps to extend your the spine and is essential that have a high curvature in the upper back.
Many people loose the ability to effectively rotate through the middle and upper back which can impact the lower back plus the neck and shoulders. Try this mobility activity to help your spine move better and get a great chest stretch.
Wow – this is an awesome exercise. Not only does it take your shoulder joint through a large range of movement, it also helps you to get that rotation movement back into your middle and upper back.
Get out a bit of rope or a strong band and try out this activity. It will help you improve your ability to reach behind your body, it actually helps all the ranges of the shoulder joint.
This is excellent for people who have issues with the Appley’s Scratch Test.
The Sphinx will test our your ability to stabilise while in thoracic extension as well as improve your individual shoulder stability.
This is a little more advanced so make sure you have been performing your upper back and shoulder stability exercises.
Dynamic warm-ups feature many of the mobility exercises from previous videos.
They are put together to be a great pre-event warm-up, but are also great if you have been still for a length of time and need to limber up.
The Qi Gong series are my interpretation on these ancient Chinese movement therapies.
They are traditionally used to promote joint movement, particularly of the spine and to improve lung capacity.
