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MOBILISATION What is mobilisation? Mobilisation is the movement of a joint to increase its range. No force is involved. (This is in contrast with manipulation). By moving the body through its current range, messages are fed back to the muscles and tendons that you wish to stretch further, and your flexibility will improve. It is important to do this unladen, that is passively. Alternatively you can swing your legs, usually one at a time, either from the knee or the hip. This simple exercise is very successful for increasing range of movement. You can also 'oil' the joints in your legs for example by cycling on a machine with no weight added, 'spinning', just moving your legs around but exerting no power. This lubricates the joints by spreading the synovial fluid around the joint, in much the same way as oil is used to lubricate an engine to reduce wear on the moving parts. We only use techniques that increase the natural range, because we find that this produces greater long term benefit. If the body is ready to increase its range, we seize the moment and encourage it. It is done after massage so that blockages have been removed and tissue has been softened. What we do We use a combination of stretches done in the treatment session and those done at home by the patient. I will suggest a selection of movements to use. My preference is for gravity stretches, those that require no force to be carried out. This means positioning your body to take advantage of gravity, for example if you lean off the edge of your bed while lying on your back, and raise you arms over your head, the weight of your head and arms will stretch your shoulders and back. If you'd like to try some now, a few can be found on the stretches page of this site, see link below. They work by encouraging increase in movement, so that normal mobility returns. Some are very simple but often overlooked such as swinging the legs. Some involve moves being performed on the patient by the practitioner, in which case these are done in the session. |
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