MOBILITY

OVERVIEW

Mobility is a functional marker of movement – defined as the “ability or inability to reach an intended posture or position” – involving multiple joints at the same time and multiple aspects of coordination between different tissue types (1). Essentially, it’s being able to move your body in the ways you want without pain or restriction. 

This is different from flexibility. 

  • Flexibility is the ability of a tissue to lengthen, as seen with passive range of motion, associated with stretching (1, 2). 

  • Mobility is the body’s ability to move through different active ranges of motion, associated with dynamic activities.

Mobility has been shown to help improve and maintain athletic performance by helping with core activation and strengthening, promoting smoothness and familiarity of movement used in activity, and control through full range of motion (2). 

Mobility needs some flexibility but also needs strength, balance, and stability (1,2). All of these need training and can be done separate from your usual workout as part of a warm up, or cool down. 

MOBILITY & AGING

Having good mobility as you age is important. Decreased mobility can lead to disability, frailty, increased reliance on caregivers, and a faster decline (3). 

Flexibility, one of the aspects of mobility, can have an effect on your life span. It has been shown that middle-aged and older individuals who are more flexible live longer even when you take age, overall health status, and BMI into account (4).

A WORD ABOUT STRETCHING

Stretching has been a part of the fitness world for so long, you can’t think of exercise without picturing a stock photo of someone holding a hamstring stretch. 

Stretching is not as helpful as we once thought. Overall, the evidence behind stretching for general injury prevention is poor. And static (holding a stretch for some time without moving) before exercise can be harmful (5). Stretching by itself after exercise doesn’t help to reduce muscle soreness either (6).

Here are some general guidelines to consider for stretching:

  • Stretching for ACUTE changes: Stretching is useful to increase range of motion in the short term, with the recommendation to do at least two reps of 5–30 seconds of stretching. However, pretty much any other method will also work to give you the same acute range of motion benefits. (6). 

  • Stretching for CHRONIC change: There are many benefits of chronically increased (but not overly mobile) flexibility. The latest recommendations are to use static or PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching 2 to 3 sets, for 30–120 seconds, depending on the muscles).

  • Stretching for acute stiffness has been shown to improve with static stretches that are held for more than 4 minutes per muscle. However, reducing stiffness too much can be a bad thing as it can decrease the storage and release of energy (6). 

  • Stretching for chronic stiffness: Stretching has been shown to help with chronic stiffness when done 5 days a week, holding a static stretch for at least 4 minutes per muscle (6).

MOBILITY RESOURCES

The internet is jam-packed with full-body or joint-specific mobility programs. If you have one, great! If you don’t, that’s okay!

Troubleshoot Aging doesn't endorse one program over the other, but the University of Pittsburg has a manual that hits each of the major muscle groups.

University of Pittsburg Mobility Manual (PDF)

NSCA Squat Mobility Primer

NSCA Upper Body Mobility Finisher

REFERENCES

  1. Brooks, T., & Cressey, E. (2013). Mobility Training for the Young Athlete. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 35(3). https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0b013e3182823435 

  2. Skopal, L. K., Drinkwater, E. J., & Behm, D. G. (2024). Application of mobility training methods in sporting populations: A systematic review of performance adaptations. Journal of Sports Sciences, 42(1), 46-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2024.2321006 

  3. McGregor, R. A., Cameron-Smith, D., & Poppitt, S. D. (2014). It is not just muscle mass: a review of muscle quality, composition and metabolism during ageing as determinants of muscle function and mobility in later life. Longevity & Healthspan, 3(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-2395-3-9 

  4. Araújo, C. G. S., Silva, C. G. d. S. e., Kunutsor, S. K., Franklin, B. A., Laukkanen, J. A., Myers, J., Singh, M. A. F., Franca, J. F., & Castro, C. L. B. (2024). Reduced Body Flexibility Is Associated With Poor Survival in Middle‐Aged Men and Women: A Prospective Cohort Study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 34(8). https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14708 

  5. Warneke, K., Thomas, E., Blazevich, A. J., Afonso, J., Behm, D. G., Marchetti, P. H., Trajano, G. S., Nakamura, M., Ayala, F., Longo, S., Babault, N., Freitas, S. R., Costa, P. B., Konrad, A., Nordez, A., Nelson, A., Zech, A., Kay, A. D., Donti, O., & Wilke, J. (2025). Practical recommendations on stretching exercise: A Delphi consensus statement of international research experts [Consensus]. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 14. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101067  

  6. McGrath, R. P., Whitehead, J. R., & Caine, D. J. (2014). The Effects of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching on Post-Exercise Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in Young Adults. International journal of exercise science, 7(1), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.70252/AYJX8444