Functional Strength, Mobility and Balance Assessments - follow up and explanations (Part 3 of 3)
Please note, these assessments are more challenging, and some will require you to get on and up from the floor. Please do these assessments with someone present to help you if needed.
#1 Lower Body Strength, Mobility and Balance
Can you stand up from a chair without using your arms to help? If you needed to use your arm(s) to help, did you even realize that you were doing this? When did this happen and why? For most people it is because of muscle weakness in their legs and core. We are a sedentary society. If you sit for most of your day and night, you will start to lose your strength. How can you not? If you do not use it, you will lose it. Another reason is poor balance and/or the fear of falling due to the stiffness, pain, and inability to get your muscle moving as quickly as they used to.
#2 Upper Body Posture and Alignment
Can you lie flat on your back with your head comfortably touching the floor? No pillows to help you! This will be very uncomfortable or for some, nearly impossible depending on how severe your back and shoulders have been rounded, and your head has moved forward. (See Posture and Alignment Assessment Part 1 – follow up and explanations to learn more on a forward head posture). Having good posture will allow you to comfortably lie flat on the ground without a pillow.
#3 Lower Body Mobility
Lying on your back, can you bend and bring one or both your knees to touch your ribs? If not, you probably cannot squat very well either. In fact, when is the last time you squatted? If you do not have a history of pain, injury or surgery to your back, hips or knees, this inability to bring your knees to your rib cage may be an indication of muscle tightness and decreased joint mobility in these areas. One reason for tightness in your lower back may be from sitting on the edge of a chair without back support for prolonged periods throughout your day. If you cannot bring your knees to touch your ribs because of your abdominal girth, that will affect more than just your mobility.
#4 Lower Body Mobility & Strength
Lying on your back, can you raise each leg up towards the ceiling to at least 80 degrees? Were you able to keep one leg touching the floor and raise your other leg straight, no bending at the knee? Was there a noticeable difference between the height of your legs? If you were not able to lift your leg to 80 degrees, this is an indication of muscle tightness in the hamstrings and/or calf. If you were not able to lift your leg without help, that is an indication of weakness possibly in the muscles in the front of your hips and thighs. If you were not able to keep the opposite leg touching the ground, that is also an indication of muscle tightness in your hips.
#5 Abdominal Strength
With your hands behind your head, can you lift your head, shoulders and arms off the floor, to a height that your shoulder blades do not touch the floor? If yes, you have 5/5 or full abdominal flexion strength. If not, try doing this “sit up” with your arms crossed in front of your chest. This will make it easier as the weight of the arms behind the head added resistance. Having full abdominal strength is so important especially for older adults to keep their independence for sitting up in bed and standing up from a chair.
# 6 Rolling - Full Body Strength & Mobility
Lying on your back, can you roll on the ground easily and equally to the right and to the left? What about in bed? If you cannot roll, or one side is harder to roll to than the other, does this surprise you? If you struggled to roll, this may be an indication of weakness in your core muscles. Rolling is one of the primary movements that we learn to do as an infant. We should not lose our ability to roll.
#7 Full Body Strength, Mobility and Balance
Can you get up from the floor while lying on your back? When was the last time you got up from lying on the floor and was this more difficult than you expected? The reason most people cannot get up from lying on their back is because they can no longer roll onto their side and/or get to a crawl position. They are stuck lying there until someone finds them. If this was difficult to do and you needed help getting up, I would highly recommend that you practice getting up from the floor on a regular basis. Based on how difficult it was for you to roll (Assessment #5) and get up from the floor from a sitting position (Assessment #6) I would start practicing rolling and getting up from sitting on the floor. Once that becomes easy, I would then practice getting up from the floor from lying on your stomach and then finally from your back.
#8 Full Body Strength, Mobility and Balance
Can you stand on one leg for 10 sec. while keeping your other leg raised to your waist and not touching your standing leg? Could you stand for 10 seconds, a couple of seconds, not at all? If not, were you surprised? When was the last time you did anything to keep or improve your balance? Think about your movements throughout your day. Are they mostly supported, sitting in your car, office chair, kitchen or restaurant chair, couch and then your bed. Do you have opportunities to challenge your balance throughout your day, such as participating in a fitness or sporting activity? What about standing on one foot while brushing your teeth or standing while putting on your socks and shoes?
I really hope these assessments opened your eyes and mind to how your body may be changing without you even noticing it. My goal was for you to have many “aha” or “lightbulb” moments. To make you aware of some of your body’s developing limitations so you can then start to correct and improve upon them. If you catch them early enough, you should be able to prevent the unnecessary wear and tear to your joints and avoid the aches and pain that so many people live with, and think is just part of the aging process. My goal is for everyone at any age, to live sprightly. (Thesaurus for Sprightly – energetic, active, spry, lively, agile, nimble, vigorous Antonym – lethargic)
Author’s note
You have completed the third of my three assessments. Please note, the activities that I chose to present in my blog are not the only measurements that can be done to evaluate your posture, alignment, mobility and strength. A physical therapist will be able to more thoroughly assess you with many other tests and measures. Please do not hesitate to seek out professional help if you now have any questions or concerns about your physical health.