Moving is becoming less necessary for our daily requirements. Food can be ordered from phones, travel can be achieved by cars and public transport, messages can be sent from laptops, and we can video call to ‘see’ someone. While advances in technology may be good in many ways, they are also resulting in us moving and loading our bodies far less.
We might question why less movement is a bad thing since it’s a natural response to reserve energy. However, the body’s subsystems, bones, muscles and nerves, require stimulus and load to maintain tolerance for when we do need to load them. Let’s break it down:
- Bones require density which is gained through impact and loading. They also require mobility around the joints which we get by improving synovial fluids through motion of that joint.
- Muscles require strength through progressive overload.
- Nerves require stimulus by way of proprioceptive challenges and gliding between the other structures to enable efficient messaging.
So to explore the question, “How can understanding biomechanics affect mobility?” Let’s dissect the meaning behind the question.
What is biomechanics?
Biomechanics, or the study of it, is a science that evaluates the relationship between the human body and the law of physics. The human body, made up of the substructures described above, is influenced by force, gravity, motion etc. Physics being force, levers, motion, momentum, gravity.
Ranges of motion for example will be affected by the joints ability to move, the muscles ability to produce and control that movement, how gravity affects the loads on the muscles and joints, the length of the levers involved, and of course the neuromuscular complexity related to the base up support and balance.
What is mobility?
Mobility is the measure of a joint range of motion. Interestingly mobility is predominantly determined by genetics.
Practitioners can study human movement data to identify if someone’s mobility is limited or maybe a client will report a feeling of reduced mobility. They might compare how they move today with how they moved previously. An example of this might be how much they can flex their knees and hips to pick something up from the floor.
If they notice the hip or knee or both feel like they are limiting the movement, they might have a reduction in the joints mobility.
Upper extremity mobility can be harder to measure in shoulders because this joint is much shallower and can move in all directions. However our more common and prolonged sitting postures can reduce the mobility of movement in the upper body.
Even tightness in the nervous system can reduce mobility of a joint by stiffening or tightening a muscle to protect the nerve. The joint that this muscle crosses therefore becomes limited by this stiffness which reduces the amount of synovial fluid produced, resulting in a knock on effect throughout the integrated system.
How does biomechanics affect mobility?
The central nervous system is like the software of the human body. It sends messages from the brain to the spinal cord. These messages continue through the peripheral nerves to communicate to the muscles about the degree of tone.
If we can learn about the laws of biomechanics and human anatomy, we can learn how to measure mobility. With the ability to measure things like joint ranges, and our training in exercise prescription, we can then recommend interventions, re-measure and have a better understanding of how to monitor and improve our clients overall mobility.
What are the benefits of understanding biomechanics for improved mobility?
A Biomechanical basis for mobilisation is key to understanding the amount of movement might hold risk, but also how the subsystems influence each other.
Physical activity requires homeostasis for optimum health in movement. We could include the way the muscles, bones and nerves link together or we could go into a wider perspective taking into account mindset, hormones, and nutrition amongst other things.
This is why personal training or sports coaching can feel quite overwhelming in the early days of qualifying. Therefore gaining additional skills in subjects like Biomechanics Coaching or Strength and Conditioning can really help broaden our knowledge to help more clients or athletes with their specific goals.
Do you need a Biomechanics Coach to improve mobility?
Mobility could be improved by simply moving well, moving more, and maybe trying new movements. However, Biomechanics Coaches are specifically trained in how to assess the entire body, and then how to prescribe techniques that are safe and very effective for improving mobility amongst other things.
Their special training in intrinsic biomechanics allows them to assess the entire human body for risk of injury. They are also trained to coach clients about how to help themselves which is extremely empowering therefore more likely to result in long term changes.
Conclusion
Learning skills in the practical application of biomechanics and in particular intrinsic biomechanics, can allow practitioners to assess their clients’ mobility. This allows the practitioners to prove their value when they show the individuals mobility improving through retesting their movement quality
So skills like Biomechanics Coaching are the perfect solution for PTs to commercialise their assessment skills.
Do you want to become Biomechanics Coach? Or expand on your intrinsic biomechanics to enhance your skillset? Then the certified Biomechanics Coach course is for you.
If you are still unsure or have questions why not speak to one of our careers advisors who will be happy to help.
rachel@biomechanicseducation.com
