The mobilization of joints is especially important in a rather inactive everyday life. In order to maintain their functionality, our joints must be used to their full extent of movement. In our daily work, however, we hardly ever move into final positions.
Our mobility is not fully utilized and the body adapts itself. Tendons and ligaments become shorter and more immobile, muscles weaken and the joints lose their mobility. Shortened and less elastic structures are more prone to injury.
Mobilization exercises for the joints can stop and improve the loss of mobility. The best mobilization exercise is the final movement. Large, wide movements until the joint does not give anything else, let the joint partners glide over each other and thus ensure an improved nutritional situation of the cartilage and surrounding structures.
Stretching exercises can also improve the mobility of joints. If the mobility of a joint is already reduced, the mobilization exercises should be performed more intensively and over a longer period of time in order to slowly reduce the changes in the joint. In physiotherapy, the therapist can perform passive stretching or use manual mobilizing techniques. This article may also be of interest to you: Exercises against muscle shortening
Simple mobilization exercises to imitate
1. exercise foot 2. exercise foot 1. exercise knee 2. exercise knee 1. exercise hip 2. exercise hip 3. exercise hip 1. exercise lumbar spine 2. exercise lumbar spine 1. exercise bws 1. exercise cervical spine 2. exercise cervical spine 3. exercise cervical spine 4. exercise cervical spineIn everyday life we often pay little attention to our ankle, but a mobile ankle is extremely important for a healthy gait pattern. Our foot can perform various movements. Pulling the rear foot towards the shin is called dorsal extension, a direction of movement that we rarely perform in everyday life and which is often reduced.
Making the foot long like a ballerina is called plantar flexion. The foot can also be moved in a lateral direction, so the outer edge can be pulled up (eversion) or the inner side (supination). Mobilization exercises ankle 1Circle the foot clockwise and counterclockwise.
Care should be taken to make the movement really large and conscious in order to move the joint in a final straight line. Mobilization exercises can be repeated several times a day in large numbers. Mobilization exercises ankle 2Another good mobilization exercise is the heel swing.
Here you sit on the floor in a long seat or lie on your back and stretch your feet forwards (plantar flexion). Now you try not to move the heel from the spot while you pull the foot back towards the shin. The knee will inevitably also lift off the ground, the angle between the rear foot and the lower leg will decrease.
When stretching again, the back of the knee will be pressed back into the support, the heel will still not move. The angle between the backfoot and the shin becomes larger. The toes and the metatarsus also belong to a mobile foot, and it is possible to integrate gripping and dexterity exercises into the mobilization program.
Since the calf muscles in particular tend to shorten, stretching exercises should also be done to improve the mobility of the ankle. In physiotherapy, the therapist can treat the individual tarsal bones, toe bones or the ankle joint by manual therapy. The lower legs and foot muscles can be additionally mobilized by soft tissue techniques.
Our knee joint is a very mobile joint and often we notice restrictions only very late. Nevertheless, the full range of motion in the knee joint is extremely important to enable a physiological gait. Mobilization exercises are also here, as it is true for all joints, large movement amplitudes.
Mobilization exercises knee joint 1 Bending and stretching the knee as far as possible can serve as an introductory mobilization exercise and prepares the muscles and ligament structures for training. Stretching in particular is often a problem in the knee joint. After operations or injuries, we often move in a bent and relieved position, the extension is quickly lost.
It can be improved by trying to press the hollow of the knee firmly into the support while sitting long or lying on your back, and by lifting the heel off the floor only by stretching the knee. The foot should be tightened for this, the thigh remains firmly on the support. The position is held briefly, then released again and taken up again.
When you have mastered the mobilization exercise correctly, you can quickly tap the heel on the surface with your heel.Mobilization exercises knee joint 2 The flexion in the knee joint should also not be neglected. Our knee can be bent up to 140°. Often we do not even notice that a few centimeters of movement have been lost.
By tightening the heel, e.g. when standing, the thigh muscle can be stretched and the knee flexion can be improved. One should not pull on the foot, but always grasp above the ankle to protect the ankle. It is important that the thigh remains straight and is not stretched to the side.
The pelvis also remains upright, the upper body is not tilted forward, the groin is pushed forward, the buttocks are tensed. The stretching position can be held for about 20 sec. and then released.
The mobilization exercise should be performed several times per side. The mobilization of the knee joint can also be supplemented by manual techniques of the therapist. These topics may also be of interest to you:
- Agility training
- Knee school
- Physiotherapy exercises knee
Due to our mostly “sitting activity”, the hip joint is one of the joints that loses its range of motion particularly quickly.
Many people have a limited hip extension. This not only overstrains the structures around the joint, but also has a negative effect on the general posture and the surrounding joints (knee, lumbar spine). The mobility of our hips should therefore be improved or maintained through mobilization exercises.
It is also true for the hip joint that movement improves mobility. Hip mobilization exercises 1Wide lunge, large movements in all directions (extension, flexion, spreading and spreading, rotation) improve the joint mechanics. Particularly important movements are the extension and also the spreading of the leg, abduction.
In both movements it is important to ensure that only the hip joint moves, but not the entire back. Mobilization exercises hip 2A good exercise to check whether the hip extension is limited is the so-called Thomas’ handle. In the supine position, one knee is pulled towards the body and held firmly (it is best to grasp the thigh to avoid stressing the knee joint).
If the leg stretched out on the floor also lifts and the rear thigh gives up contact with the ground, this is a sign that hip mobility is restricted. You can now try to press the thigh back onto the support in order to stretch the muscles of the front thigh and the groin. Mobilization exercises hip 3 If this is easy to do see exercise 2, you can also do the mobilization exercise in the overhang.
The best way to do this is to lie on the edge of the bed so that you are safe, but still your thigh and buttocks look out over the edge on the side to be stretched. Mobilization exercises hip 4The mobility of the internal muscles (adductors) can also be limited and should be improved by mobilization exercises. For this purpose, you can sit cross-legged on the floor so that the two soles of your feet are lying next to each other, you now try to push your knees towards the floor.
In order to maintain the gained mobility, a strengthening of the gluteal muscles and abductors should also be included in the exercise program. There is a wide range of different exercise variations. Bridging is particularly suitable, which is a mobilization exercise in addition to strengthening.
These topics may also be of interest to you:
- Agility training
- Exercises from physiotherapy for the hip
Due to the limited mobility of our hips, our lumbar spine is often rather over-mobile and should be stabilized by targeted abdominal and back muscle training. If the mobility of the lumbar spine is limited, it can be mobilized very well by pelvic movements. Lumbar spine mobilization exercises 1 Lumbar spine mobilization exercises can be performed on a stool or gym ball, for example, but also while standing in front of a mirror.
A good body perception and/or visual control is important. Only the pelvis and lower back should move during the mobilization exercises, the thoracic spine and trunk should remain stable. It is best to first palpate the protruding pelvic bones at the front above the groin.
Now you can try to tilt these bones forward and down and backward and up. In doing so, the pelvis moves forward and backward and the lumbar spine continues to form an increased hollow back or a stronger flexion. Lumbar spine mobilization exercises 2 The lateral movement of the lumbar spine can be improved by mobilization exercises from the supine position.It is best to lie down on a firm surface and feel for the pelvic bones again.
Now the legs are stretched alternately without the knees bending, so that one leg becomes “longer” than the other. This movement should not be strenuous. The pelvic bones are raised and lowered, the chest remains fixed on the support.
From belly button height onwards, no more movement takes place. Lumbar spine mobilization exercises 3 Further mobilizing exercises for the lumbar spine can be used, for example, from the yoga area. The child’s position improves the flexion of the lumbar spine, the giraffe or fish are good for stretching.
In everyday life, care should be taken to avoid permanently one-sided postures. There are also mobilization techniques for the lumbar spine from manual therapy, or soft tissue techniques that the therapist can perform during physiotherapy. Since we often work in front of the body in everyday life, such as when working at the computer, our arms and, as we walk, our shoulders are in a forward position (protraction).
This position has a negative effect on our BWS. The result can be a hunchback or a loss of mobility. Mobilization exercises for BWS should therefore usually train the straightening, i.e. the extension of the spine.
Wide arm movements are a very good way to do this. The shoulder girdle has a strong effect on the posture of the BWS. Mobilization Exercise BWS By simply pulling the shoulder blades backwards and downwards, the BWS will be straightened.
If there is no discomfort in the shoulder joints, you can also grab your hands behind your back and try to release your hands from your back. In this way, one pulls oneself into an extension of the spine. Since our ribs originate from the thoracic spine, breathing should always be taken into account during mobilization exercises for BWS.
Breathing in emphasizes the extension and straightening of the thoracic spine, breathing out emphasizes flexion. In addition to mobilization exercises, if there is a lack of mobility, strengthening of the straightening muscles should be integrated into the exercise program to stabilize the newly acquired range of motion in everyday life. Exercises and information on this topic can be found under Physiotherapy Bechterew’s disease and Physiotherapy according to Schroth.
Our cervical spine is the most mobile part of the spine. In everyday life, we often do not notice that we no longer move our cervical spine in the final stages and thus lose mobility. Usually, a movement deficit is only noticed when we can no longer adequately look at our shoulders while driving a car and have to turn our upper body to see enough.
The mobility of the cervical spine is then restricted. Muscular tension or shortening is often the initial cause. An intensive stretching program can be helpful here.
The article Mobility of the cervical spine could also be of interest to you in this regard. Cervical spine mobilization exercises 1 The lateral inclination can be improved by placing the ear down towards the shoulder. The opposite shoulder is pulled towards the ground to make the distance between ear and shoulder on the side to be stretched as large as possible.
By placing the opposite arm on the head (please do not pull, the weight of the arm is completely sufficient) the stretching can be increased. The position should be held for about 20 seconds and can then be released slowly. Afterwards the exercise should also be performed on the other side.
In the stretching position the head position can also be slightly changed to mobilize other parts of the muscles. A slight rotation can create a different stretching sensation. Mobilization exercises for the cervical spine 2 Mobilization exercises for the cervical spine are also simple but consciously performed head movements.
With the upper body fixed (the shoulders do not rotate), you can look over the right shoulder and then over the left shoulder as far as possible. The movements are performed slowly. In the final position the movement is stopped briefly.
Mobilization exercises cervical spine 3 Another variation is a semicircular movement. You start and turn your head to your right shoulder, lower your gaze towards the floor and describe a semicircular movement with your chin until you look over your left shoulder with an upright gaze. The way back is also over the floor again.
Mobilization exercises cervical spine 4 The head is not placed in the neck during this mobilization exercise. This movement represents the stretching of the cervical spine and is often uncomfortable and can even cause dizziness. It should be practiced very slowly if necessary and if it does not lead to unpleasant symptoms.
The chin is alternately curled to the chest and then lifted, the head is placed in the neck.If the movement is pleasant, the mouth can be opened at the end of the movement to increase the range of movement. If dizziness or headaches occur during the exercise, this movement should be omitted from the exercise program. Therapeutic manual techniques on the cervical spine are also possible.
Further exercises for the cervical spine can be found in the articles: You might also be interested in these articles:
- Mobilization exercises cervical spine
- Physiotherapy HWS Syndrome
- Exercises HWS Syndrome
- Physiotherapy for a child’s torticollis
- Wryneck
Our shoulder joint is the most flexible joint in the body. We can move our shoulder in all directions. Lifting the arm often causes discomfort, especially when there are slight signs of wear or problems with the attachment points of the rotator cuff (the muscles surrounding the joint).
It is usually not until later that we notice that the mobility of our shoulder is decreasing because we compensate for a large part of the movement by using the shoulder girdle. If this is the case, however, it can lead to neck pain and tension (cervical spine syndrome), the shoulder joint is moved less and the loss of mobility continues. Mobilization exercises shoulder 1 In order to prevent these avoidance mechanisms during mobilization exercises for the shoulder (see above), the exercises should be performed in front of a mirror to check that the shoulder is not pulled up.
The distance between shoulder and ear should always be as large as possible. In this way, various exercises can be practiced, such as spreading the shoulder over the side or lifting the arm. Mobilization exercises shoulder 2 It can also help to reduce the weight of the arm in order to create an effortless basis.
For example, you can sit in front of a table and put your arms on it. It is important that the support surface is not too high. The shoulder girdle should not be raised during this exercise either.
Now the arms are pushed forward, e.g. on a water bottle or over a cloth, so that the movement falls easily. The weight of the arms is thus eliminated, the muscles have to exert themselves much less, the focus is entirely on joint mobility. Mobilization exercises shoulder 3 Other mobilization exercises for the shoulder can range from simple shoulder circling to circling the arms to rounding or lifting movements.
During therapy, the therapist can mobilize the head of the shoulder in a targeted manner. Often, this head has slipped upwards in the joint under the acromion and thus causes a certain tightness in the joint, which can restrict mobility. Manual sliding techniques can be used to push the shoulder head down in a targeted manner (caudalized).
