Mobility is the ability to control joints through pain-free and efficient ranges of motion. Most people associate mobility with the looseness of muscles, but this is not the case.
Many people complain about feeling “stiff” or “tight,” leading to discomfort and maybe even pain. The truth is you’re probably not tight; your brain is just making it seem that way. Roughly 95% of the people I see for treatment complain about chronic stiffness or lack of mobility and flexibility. 98% of the time, they really don’t have mobility issues.
You see, we don’t get tight the way you think we do. Restriction is most often caused by problems with stability, neurological blocks (be they subconscious or conscious) and, in some cases, direct trauma.
Stability problems are generally caused by a combination of weakness and neurological reactions. Every movement we make requires a primary muscle, an opposing muscle, and a stabilizing muscle to work together. If one of the muscles are not firing the way they are supposed to, we stiffen up. This a protective mechanism created by the central nervous system to protect surrounding structures such as muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints.
Our tissues and the nervous system are highly adaptive. This adaptability potential is known as plasticity and both our muscular-skeletal system and nervous system have it. Unfortunately, we are adaptable to both positive and negative stimuli.
All muscles also have two attachment points: for example, the bicep crosses the elbow joint and shoulder joint. If joints are not aligned correctly or functioning efficiently, they may pull the muscle in a specific direction. This creates the illusion of tight muscles, but really, the stability or alignment of the joint is the culprit.
Then, we have subconscious effects on the human body. All tissues in the body have an emotional connection as well as a physical connection, so every so often it’s really a somatic/emotional problem that is manifesting itself as a physical one. When this happens, the brain can “lock down” certain muscles, joints, organs and parts of the nervous system. This subconscious reaction can lead to problems such as weakness, fatigue, anxiety, poor circulation and more.
In other cases, you may have someone who has experienced direct trauma such as a car accident or fall. When this happens, the brain tells a specific area to go into “protection mode” to keep tissues, joints, and bones safe from further injury.
So, how do you actually fix these problems? My recommendation is going to a health practitioner who understands these principles and mechanisms well. They can help rewrite these pathways, creating new ones that allow your body to recover and function more efficiently.