How can a Physiotherapist help with mobility?
The term ‘mobility’ is used to help describe something’s ability to move freely. Physiotherapists often use this term as it helps explain how well a joint, body part or individual is able to move. Mobility is an important factor when it comes to physiotherapy; it’s regularly used as a measurement for progress or recovery. Mobility strategies are also commonly incorporated into the many interventions and programs offered by Employ Health.
The benefits of improving mobility through physiotherapy can be applied to the general population, sporting fields, office spaces and particularly for the purposes of workplace injury and prevention. Mobility programs can be as individualised as a select few exercises targeted at a single joint of the body, or designed for an entire department in a workforce. Mobility programs are a great way to get the body into shape, build capacity for physical activity and prepare the individual for everyday life – personal and work!
In this article, we’ll talk about how a physiotherapist can assist with promoting mobility and why this is important, how it is incorporated into popular health programs and how this can be delivered on an individual, group and company level.
What is Mobility, and Why Does it Matter?
Mobility is used to describe how easily something can move. This includes the amount of movement but also the quality at which the movement is performed. For example, take a golf player preparing for a drive. Without going through dynamic mobility exercises prior to hitting the ball, you might argue his back swing may be slowed or shortened, he may feel more tightness in the shoulder and back joints when opening up the swing, his follow through may not be as smooth and less powerful. Mobility strategies should not only be applied to athletes or prior to sporting activities, but also to help improve quality of movement, accuracy and effectiveness of tasks and promote comfort for the everyday and working population. Engaging with a physiotherapist is a great way to better understand and formulate the best mobility strategy for your individual needs.
Reduced activity can lead to some mobility concerns and poorer health outcomes. Recent evidence has suggested those who engage regularly in specific physical mobility based exercise can improve chronic pain management, reduce injury risk and improve performance levels. Certain demographics have also been shown to have increased challenges with mobility (such as the aged workforce, lower physically active people, those with obesity, diabetes & arthritic comorbidities), which can be a significant issue for a workforce, both in terms of productivity and financial performance. Being able to both measure and improve mobility can support pain management, workplace productivity, psychosocial status, reduced overall morbidity and better health and wellbeing. Mobility programs can be provided at an individual level and much larger groups through guidance, advice and physical exercises.
How can a physio help with mobility?
Individuals who are able to actively promote and improve the mobility of their bodies can benefit for a number of reasons. Poor mobility, as discussed, can contribute to musculoskeletal aches and pains, difficulties with effective task performance and further health risk such as poor cardiac health and weight loss factors, to name a few.
Physiotherapists are able to perform mobility assessments to determine where any concerns may lie. This might include evaluating a tight joint or the flexibility of a muscle, but also assessing the overall quality of the performance of a task – for example, assessing back mobility to lift from the ground, or rotational neck range for forklift drivers. This can be performed by using measuring tools such as goniometers, biofeedback, gait and functional task analysis/screenings. With this information, we can then precisely address the areas of concerns with targeted objectives.
Supported by the use of technology, interventions can be delivered to at-risk individuals and populations more proactively before complaints occur. Using task assessments and data collection in the workplace, we can identify which areas would most benefit from implementing effective mobility programs. A common example would be prescribing shoulder and neck functional exercises for manual handling departments or forklift drivers with the aim to reduce musculoskeletal complaints.
Targeted intervention to improve mobility might also include specialist intervention with hands-on treatment using soft tissue techniques, mobilisations, joint facilitations and assistive stretching. This can have great outcomes for an individual’s mobility, providing pain relief and allowing them to carry out daily roles and tasks more comfortably and safely.
Physical exercises, such as resistance and strength programs, have great benefits with improving bodily mobility and overall functional performance. These programs can be prescribed and reviewed with specialist occupational physiotherapists via personal electronic programs, physical demonstrations, one-on-one programs with professional guidance, group classes and worksite presentations. Supportive visual aids such as site exercise posters and on-floor videos of dynamic warm-up routines are just a couple of methods that have been effective for promoting engagement and compliance with mobility-based exercise on a daily basis in the workplace environment.
Mobility is extremely important for individuals to have and continue to maintain and promote. It is shown to be linked with poorer physicality and health outcomes, as well as higher injury risk. Physiotherapists trained in occupational health are able to identify areas of safety and health risk in relation to mobility concerns, to support the individuals and groups in need of intervention. This is achieved through accurate, research-driven assessments guiding effective treatments in the forms of hands-on therapy, exercise routines and education for ongoing self management.
Does your workforce need to get mobile? Learn more about Employ Health’s proactive workplace health programs here.