Mobility and Flexibility Assessments - follow up and explanations (Part 2 of 3)
#1 Cervical Spine Mobility
Can you easily look up to the ceiling and then bring your chin downwards to touch your upper chest? If yes, you have normal neck or cervical spine range of motion. If you cannot, look at your posture. If you have a forward head posture and a rounded back, your ability to rotate your neck upwards and downwards will be limited due to the muscle tightness caused by this forward flexed posture. (For additional explanation, please refer to the previous blog on Posture and Alignment Part 1 – follow up and explanations)
#2 Cervical Spine Mobility
Can you fully turn your head to the right and then to the left. Are you able to turn your head the same distance to both sides? Normal range is the ability to turn your head to about 90 degrees evenly in both directions. While watching yourself in the mirror or filming yourself, does your chin start to rise upwards when you turn and/or do you hear any snapping or grinding noises? Unfortunately, the raising of your chin and these noises are signs of tightness and possible wear and tear to the structures of your vertebrae due to poor posture and alignment.
#3 Shoulder Mobility and Flexibility
Can you raise your arms completely above your head, bringing them up to your ears? Full shoulder range of motion at the front of your body is the ability to lift both arms to at least your ears. If you cannot lift your arms this high, look at your posture. Having a rounded back with inward rotating shoulders and a forward head posture will limit your ability to raise your arms to your ears due to the muscle tightness caused by this forward flexed posture. (For further explanation, please read through my previous blog on Posture and Alignment – Part 1 – follow up and explanations) If you cannot raise your arm(s) to your head and needed help to lift your arm(s), this is most likely due to muscle weakness or instability. If you cannot move one of your arms at all, this may indicate a frozen shoulder. In both cases, I would strongly recommend that you see your physician or a physical therapist to determine the reason for this lack of mobility.
#4 Shoulder Mobility and Flexibility
Reach your right arm overhead (like you are trying to scratch an itch on your upper back). Then bring your left arm down behind your back trying to reach up to touch your right hand. Repeat by switching the direction of arms. Are you able to touch your fingers together in both directions? This assessment combines several movements that will give you an indication of your shoulders’ ability to rotate inward and outward while moving above and behind your body. Movements necessary to shampoo or comb your hair, wash your back, or put on a bra, reach into your back pocket or even to wipe yourself. If you care for an elderly person who can no longer do these things, you realize how important these movements are to keep your independence.
#5 Thoracic Spine Mobility
Stand with your back to a mirror, feet stay planted, can you turn your upper body to the right and backwards as far as you can to try to see the reflection of the front of your left shoulder in the mirror? What about turning to the left and backwards to see the reflection of the front of your right shoulder? Is there a significant difference between your ability to turn right verses left? If you can turn to see one shoulder but not the other, this may be due to an imbalance of muscular tightness on one side of your body from habitual movements throughout your day. For example, do you turn more to your right because that is where your co-worker sits, or the direction of your door in your office, or where you reach for the items on your desk multiple times a day? Do you participate in a sport or activity that favors rotation more towards one direction such as swinging a golf club, throwing a ball, serving food or drinks, reaching for packages or files, etc. These repetitive movements over time will tighten muscles on one side of the body and stretch the muscles on the opposite side causing an imbalance of these muscles and poor movement. If you cannot turn and see either shoulder’s reflection, you would benefit from improving your thoracic spine’s mobility.
#6 Hamstring Flexibility
Can you bend down to touch your toes while keeping your legs straight? Observe yourself in a mirror from the side while doing this or have someone observe how you bend. Are you arching at your back to bend? To prevent stress to your low back, you should bend at your hip joints while keeping your back straight especially when picking something up from the floor. If you cannot reach your toes without bending at your knees, it may not only be from tightness in the muscles of your hamstrings like most people believe. It could also be due to poor balance. Your central nervous system or your brain may prevent you from leaning forward at a certain point for fear of falling.
#7 Calf Flexibility
Facing a wall, place the toes of one foot five inches from this wall (may help to mark 5″ with a piece of tape). Can you touch the kneecap of this leg to the wall while also keeping your heel to the floor? Repeat with your other leg. If yes, you have normal flexibility of the muscles in your calf. If you cannot touch your knee to the wall without lifting your heel, this could be an indication of tightness in the muscle of your calf. This tightness can eventually affect the joint mobility of your ankles and knees. Additionally, this tightness can go up your alignment chain to affect your hips and low back as well as disrupt your gait or walking pattern.
#8 Toe Flexibility and Mobility
Can you spread your toes apart, how far, all your toes? Can you still bend and straighten your toes, all of them? Do you lack mobility in any of your toes? Have you ever thought about the mobility and flexibility of your toes? Most people take their toes for granted unless they have been experiencing pain. Good flexibility and mobility of your toes and feet are essential to ensure that you stand and walk properly. If you have faulty alignment and mobility, this can lead to a cascade effect of compensations up the chain of your leg. This in turn will affect the integrity of the joints, muscles and even the bone structures of this leg and into the rest of your body such as the low back.
Personal Note:
You may have noticed in the pictures of assessment #4 that my right shoulder’s mobility is limited compared to my left. I am not even close to having my fingers touched. I do this stretch at least five times a week to improve my right shoulder’s range of motion with little improvement. This tightness is due to scarring and complications I experienced from a blood clot and then surgery that affected my right upper arm and shoulder area when I was in my early forties. Even though I stretch and work on this shoulder’s range of motion regularly, I will never get back to my previous mobility. So why bother stretching it, you may be thinking? Because I have prevented my shoulder from getting much worse. So please keep this in mind when you are assessing your body. Not everyone will have perfect mobility or flexibility. Especially if you have had previous injuries or surgeries. Some people actually have too much flexibility which can cause issues as well. The key take away is to improve or keep your functional mobility so you can move and do the thing you need to do in your daily life without pain. Correcting what you can also help to prevent further wear and tear, injury, and pain to these areas.