Skip to main content

Joint mobility

I've been reading about joint mobility a fair bit recently and trying to practice some moves daily.

I've either been doing Maxwell's Daily Dozen or Scott Sonnon's free book of Intu Flow moves. I'm finding some benefit I think.

The theory as far as I can see is that moving your joints through all their range of motion bathes them in sinovial fluid - oils the hinge if you will. Stretching doesn't always help, but moving does.

Mobility is body’s own anti-aging agent. When you bathe each joint in nutritive and lubricative flow, you revitalize “endogenous energy” (an energy independent of outside sources). Mobility removes aches and pains which are the body’s last effort attempt to communicate to your brain that injury is imminent. Mobility halts and reverses accelerated aging which happens not only from physical activities, trauma, and injuries, but also from just daily living in a gravitational field. As such, mobility is the elixir of life, a truly innate fountain of wellness. Movement is life!


I've been doing a search to see if I can find any studies about the effectiveness of such moves but haven't found much yet. Those that promote it makes it out to be the Fountain of Youth. I think I need some evidence. Is anyone aware of any studies?

It feels good though whatever.

Here is Scott Sonnon throwing out some moves:

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Chris,

Great blog. I think there are some physical benefits to dynamic joint mobility ("DJM") work such as getting the synovial fluids moving, etc, but I think most of the benefits from DJM (or most other exercise for that matter) take place by affecting the nervous system rather than the actual physical structures of the joints. In other words, you are affecting the software of the body, not the hardware, or put yet another way, the target for the exercise is the brain, not the body. A major benefit of DJM, if done mindfully and precisely, is proprioceptive enhancement, which allows the brain to refine its "maps" of the body. (See Sandra Blaseklee's great book The Body has a Mind of its Own for more on the fascinating emerging neuroscience behind the body maps.)

Z-Health, developed by Eric Cobb, is an excellent joint mobility practice that derives in part from Sonnon's work and focuses to a much greater extent on affecting the central nervous system. You may be interested in checking out my blog discussing some of the science behind the benefits of DJM work such as Z-health. It includes discussions of pain science, motor learning theory and proprioception. toddhargrove.wordpress.com
November 25, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Anonymous said…
Greg A. over at Crossfit.com has a joint mobility warmup that I've been using for a long while. I can definitely attest that when I do it often, I rarely get any injuries. When I start rushing directly into a warmup and workout without using this warmup, I tend to get injured. Anecdotal, but food for thought. Here's the video links:

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_GregAWarmup.wmv

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_GregAWarmup.mov
November 26, 2008 at 8:49 AM
Ty said…
Interesting idea about sinovial fluid, perhaps this is where practices like tai chi or qigong provide health benefits?
January 25, 2010 at 10:48 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dry January

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January".  I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol.  A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic.  As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure.  There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly.  I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful.  But over time, one glass became two.  Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle.  A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
7 comments
Read more

So where have I been?

You will have noticed that this blog has been quiet for a while....  There are a few reasons for that, reasons that I thought I'd list here: WORK -  my day job has been incredibly busy and stressful this year. Working 10-14 hour days the last thing on my mind when I got home was putting something on here.  FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I suppose I've been using other channels to do some of what I used to do here. Quick fire posts pointing to interesting studies or news etc tend to get posted to Twitter (@chrishighcock) or to the Facebook Hillfit group http://www.facebook.com/groups/263083947097000/  REASSESSMENT - I've found myself less comfortable with some of the positions I've taken in the past. Sometimes I'm embarrassed by some of the things I've promoted. I'm not Paleo or low carb. I think Tabata and intervals are misunderstood and misapplied. I cannot really claim to be HIT.   I find myselfunable  honestly to post things on here and pretend that I am some sort o...
12 comments
Read more

Taking up space for a brief update

I've a couple of posts in draft that I will get up soon -  an update / reflection on Dry January and some thoughts on the scheduling benefits of short workouts if your life is busy.  Before that though, I am pointing to something else. However, I wanted to highlight something that is coming this weekend that I've been involved in.   Amber Rogers (Gokaleo and author of Taking Up Space ) has been pulling together a bundle of books from various authors with a common theme, one that I've been pushing here recently.   Keep it simple, avoid the hype, be patient, be consistent and flee the gurus.   I've talked before about how we get obsessed with pushing for more and more, when enough is OK.  I've given my view that so much of the health and fitness internet world is more like a gnostic religion than something that will benefit your life. There are other voices out there saying similar things and I'll be pointing to a bundle of books later this week ...
1 comment
Read more