There's often confusion between **mobility and flexibility**, but in rehab, understanding the difference is crucial. Flexibility is about the length of a muscle, while mobility is about the active range of motion around a joint. How have you addressed both in your recovery? Did your physio emphasize one over the other at different stages, and why?
This is so true! My physio always talked about **mobility first**. For my ankle, it wasn't just about stretching the calf (flexibility), but about getting the joint to move through its full, controlled range of motion (mobility) without pain. We did ankle cars (controlled articular rotations) for this.
As a lifter, I focused a lot on flexibility before my shoulder injury, but then I realized my *active* shoulder mobility was terrible. My physio had me doing exercises where I had to actively control the range, like wall slides and banded pull-aparts. It wasn't just about stretching, but about **strengthening through the full range**.
For my hip, it was a mix. Initially, getting some passive flexibility back was important to reduce tightness. But then, it quickly shifted to **active mobility drills** – movements that required my muscles to *pull* my leg into a certain range, not just gravity or a passive stretch. That's where I saw real improvement in function.
My back rehab was almost entirely focused on mobility and stability. We rarely did static stretches. Instead, it was about controlled movements through the spine, like cat-cow, and then strengthening my core to *control* that range. **Stability within mobility** was the phrase they used.
It sounds like **mobility is the practical application of flexibility with control and strength**. This distinction is so important, especially for injury prevention once you return to activity. So, would you say flexibility often precedes mobility work, or are they integrated?
They were integrated for me. Sometimes a short passive stretch to get into a position, but immediately followed by active movements *in* that new range. It was about teaching the body to *use* the flexibility it had.
For lifting, if you don't have the flexibility to get into a safe position, you can't really work on mobility there effectively. So, maybe flexibility first to open up the door, then mobility to step through it with control. That's how my PT explained it.
Yes, exactly that. Get the range, then learn to control it. And the mobility drills felt much more effective for long-term function than just stretching alone.
It's all about functional movement, right? And you can't have functional movement without controlled mobility.