At some point it becomes essential to see the connection across the chain of joints in your body. Individual mobility is key but they all need to work together, so if you can understand this one thing you will see rapid growth in your coordination.
There is an alternating pattern that takes place in the motion and function of your joints. The most definitive example of this is in the Mobility-Stability continuum, which is well stated by Military Expert in Human Performance Craig Weller at atsci.org -
The Mobility-Stability Continuum
The joints are referred as existing on what is called the Mobility-Stability Continuum. This is because the joints alternate in fashion. The ankle should be mobile, the knee should be stable, the hip should be mobile, etc.
Here’s the outline:
Joint — Need
Foot — Stability
Ankle — Mobility
Knee — Stability
Hip — Mobility
Lumbar Spine — Stability
Thoracic Spine — Mobility
Scapula — Stability
Gleno-Humeral Joint — Mobility
Elbow — StabilityMost of the postural problems common in North Americans are due to the reversal of this continuum. When a mobile joint becomes less so, the joints above and below it increase in mobility in order to compensate. Likewise, when a stable joint becomes looser, the joints above and below it will become more stiff.
If you can understand the concept of compensation here you will be miles ahead of 90 percent of people out there. Stiffness in a mobile joint demands mobility from the stable joints adjacent, and mobility in a stable joint demands stiffness from the mobile joints adjacent. So often times with a problematic joint, either too loose or too tight, the answer is to look at the next adjacent joint.
This is a huge step in understanding the way your own body functions, and will let you diagnose imbalances and enhance performance in ways that most people just cannot, and it’s summed up like this-
- For a joint that feels too weak, loosen the two adjacent points in the chain.
- For a joint that feels too stiff, strengthen the two adjacent points in the chain.
To see this at work in function, plant your feet and turn your knees out. Notice how as the hips rotate externally, the ankles rotate internally? This takes a moment to wrap your head around, but if you repeat the resulting movement of each joint it will make sense, and if it makes sense you will boost your motor skills up in an instant.
The same happens if you rotate your arms with your hands planted against a flat surface. The law of alternating applies throughout the chain for all functional movement, because the body compensates. If you can feel this in your body you will always be able to bring yourself in balance and you will improve your quality of movement with every motion you make.
Can you see how this applies in your sport? In your daily life? Share your examples.