Looking after JOINT MOBILITY as we age

As time travels beyond our youthful years, we begin to notice differences in the way we hold ourselves; our posture changes and the way we move begins to slow.

Our skeletal system provides us the support and structure we need to carry ourselves through our daily lives, building strength and the ability to hold force within our joints.

Our joints are the areas in which bones meet and glide against one and other, allowing for ‘flexible movement’.

Cartilage works to cushion our joints and separate the bones, with each bone capsule further covered by synovial fluid and membranes. This structure ultimately provides the freedom for our joints to glide smoothly.

While the years pass and we slowly become less active, our muscles and joints begin to stiffen, often resulting in a slower and a more limited range of motion within the joint.

This has the potential to lead to discomfort and pain within the area of movement.

As well as underuse, our joints can also become quite painful and tight through muscle overuse and excessive amounts of force, often leading to reduced fluidity in movement.

Joint mobilisation can be useful in helping to restore the functional range of movement within our joints, improving our optimal performance.

A manual therapy technique, joint mobilisation is used to aid the relief of the fixed and limited joint. The technique involves passive movement on and throughout the joint in a way which increases small movement against the bone’s surface and ultimately seeks to improve the functional movement of our joint capsules.

The effectiveness of manual joint mobilisation will work to delay the “ageing effect”, springing you back to life with reduced pain and discomfort, as well as improved movement throughout the body. Joint mobilisation isn’t only limited to the aging population however; it can also be used to aid the rehabilitation of past injuries and further help athletes perform at their optimal level.

If this treatment sounds beneficial to you, or you’re simply interested in knowing more, contact us at The Health Creation Centre by phoning 5255 3411.

Summer Spikers is a myotherapist at The Health Creation Centre in Ocean Grove.