Posted: March 8, 2024 at 10:31 am
When I was new trainer just getting into the fitness industry (pre-2010) there was a concept going around the online forums that was typically called the “joint by joint approach” to mobility.
It was, of course, a bit overly simplified, but the spirit of it I still believe to have value.
In a nutshell it claimed that your body is a stack of joints, and those joints alternate between being best trained for A) mobility, then B) stability.
- Ankles = should be mobile
- Knees = should be stable
- Hips = should be mobile
- Lower back = should be stable, and so on
Part of the theory is that if a joint that should have ample mobility ends up losing some of its mobility, then a neighboring joint then has to pick up its slack, and basically move more than it was really designed to.
Again, this is oversimplified, but I do believe there is value to it.
Here is an example: Let’s say you want to do some deep squats, either in the weight room or maybe some athletic activity that puts you in a similar position. However, you sit at a desk all day and are not consistent about stretching your hips, so they have gotten “tight” and have lost some range of motion. When you try to do a squat, your hips cannot bend as much as they really should, so your knees end up needing to bend extra or contort in some weird ways in order to do your squat.
Since your knees are not really designed for this, the squats end up irritating your knees. But, is this really your knees’ fault? Not necessarily. The main culprit is likely your tight hips, who are not pulling their own weight and are forcing your knees to work overtime. If you get your hips loosened up, there is a good chance your knees will be given some much needed breathing room.
-Tony
