Do you feel limited in your hips when attempting a squat like the gentleman above? Or perhaps your shoulders feel stiff when you try to raise your arms overhead? Maybe it’s your ankle mobility that’s holding you back?
No matter where your mobility issues arise, it’s actually your body—more specifically, your brain—that’s intentionally causing this. You might feel tightness in a muscle, tendon, or joint, but this is simply your body’s way of creating more rigidity to better handle the physical demands you place on it regularly.
I often reflect on the many players I’ve worked with in the National Football League. A significant number of them had restricted ankle mobility, particularly in dorsiflexion (the ability to pull the top of the foot upward). These athletes were constantly sprinting, pushing, cutting, and accelerating, which required them to stay on the balls of their feet. Their heels rarely touched the ground, leading their calves and Achilles tendons to operate in a consistently shortened position. The brain smartly adapted to this by creating stiffness in the calves, which enhanced the elastic, spring-like properties of the muscle. This adaptation allowed them to use less energy and push off more quickly since they were already close to the starting position.
While this adaptation was beneficial for performance, it often led to imbalances when left unchecked, putting them at risk for various injuries. Their bodies essentially “forgot” how to move in a more controlled, less extreme manner. This “all or nothing” movement pattern works well for the high-intensity demands of sports but can become problematic when relied upon off the field.
This concept applies to all of us. Our brains will adapt and limit mobility in different areas if we continuously train our bodies in only one way.
Don’t get me wrong—our bodies need to know how to generate power for sports or training. However, we also need to ensure that we’re not overly reliant on these patterns and that we can move in various ways.
That’s why I often encourage athletes and patients to include exercises in their training that don’t require excessive strain. You shouldn’t need to grit your teeth or tense every muscle in your body to accomplish a task. If you do, it indicates a lack of movement efficiency.
Stretching alone won’t resolve this issue because we cannot overpower the nervous system. Instead, the best approach is to address the root cause of mobility restrictions by incorporating the strategies mentioned above.
