WHY FOAM ROLLING DOESN’T IMPROVE MOBILITY

May 26

Soft-tissue release is not mobility! That’s my starting statement…

Mobility is a very popular term in this functional training era.

Yet, what we see on social media to improve mobility is often smashing with a ball, a barbell, a kettlebell, a foam roller, even a massage gun. I often wonder what’s next that we can mash ourselves with?

Granted, these and other soft-tissue or myofascial methods usually provide instant results in terms of increasing range. That may be why they’re so popular…everyone is impressed by immediate results – before and after – woaaaaah.

We must understand that there are several components to mobility: flexibility, joint range of motion, motor control. A definition of mobility I really like is: the ability to move or be moved freely. I like the fact that this definition distinguishes between moving and being moved, because these are two distinct capacities.

To reinforce efficient movement patterns, you have to be able to move efficiently.

Limitations in movement that come from poor soft-tissue quality are a significant barrier to movement quality and need to be addressed if we hope to move more efficiently. But this only addresses and improves the capacity to “be moved”.

In their systematic literature review on the effects of myofascial rolling (either using a foam roller or tiger tail tool), Hughes and Ramer (2019) found that most studies (10 out of 17 studies reviewed) reported an increase in acute range of motion but that these results varied between subjects. Furthermore, results do not support long-term increases in range of motion.

The effect of soft tissue work on range of motion can open up a window of opportunity, as it removes these barriers to movement. However, there is an active component to mobility that needs to be addressed, because mobility and stability are intrinsically linked.

Once we have opened up range of motion, it is imperative to work within that range to gain awareness and control.

This creates stability within that new range and stability must be present in order for mobility to be maintained in the long term.

THE MOBILITY-STABILITY CONTINUUM

From a purely anatomical (structural) standpoint, we tend to view mobility and stability at opposite ends of the same spectrum: some joints have a structure that affords more mobility, such as the shoulder, while some have a structure that affords more stability, such as the knee. Mobile joints have a bony geometry that is conducive to more movement but less structural stability, and vice versa.

Cook & Boyle’s joint by joint theory explains that our joints are stacked and function to alternately provide mobility and stability:

What is true from a structural standpoint is not always demonstrated from a functional standpoint. Mobile joints may tend to become “sloppy” as Cook & Boyle put it, which we can define as mobility expressed without stability.

On the other hand, joints that are intended to be mobile may become stiff, and often this can be attributed to the joint above and/or below not providing the stability it is intended to provide.

As you can see, both hypermobility and hypomobility can result in instability. Hypermobility often manifests as an inability to control a desired movement or an inability to resist an undesired movement, while hypomobility often manifests as an inability to produce a desired movement.

For example, a hypomobile shoulder can result in an inability to lock out the arm in an overhead position. With a hypermobile shoulder, one may have difficulty stabilizing the end range of the lockout or prevent excessive movement at the end range.

For optimal function and movement, individual joints, as well as the entire kinetic chain, require a combination of mobility and stability that is balanced and extends as far as possible across the range between rigidity and laxity, as depicted in the figure below:

MUSCLES AND JOINTS

Soft-tissue release will have an effect on muscles, but mobility also involves joints. While releasing muscles may increase joint range of motion, until we work within that range to create that fine balance between mobility and stability, we will not have a lasting effect on mobility.

The intricate relationship between joints and muscles is well summarized by Dr. John M. Mennell (Mennell, John. Joint Pain., Little Brown and Company, 1983.):

When a joint is not free to move, the muscles that move it are not free to move.
Muscles cannot be restored to normal if the joint which they move is not free to move.
Normal muscle function is dependent on normal joint movement.
Impaired muscle function perpetuates and may cause deterioration in abnormal joints.

An effective mobility approach needs to involve muscles and joints with consideration to the intricate relationship between the two.

MOBILIsE TO ALLOW MOVEMENT

I often use the word “mobilisation” instead of “mobility”. To IMMOBILIsE is to make immobile, to prevent use or movement. Think of a cast or a brace with a lock. We use these to prevent movement. As such, to MOBILISE is the exact opposite: to make mobile, to allow use or movement. The objective of mobilization is to improve the individual’s ability to move, to make more mobile, to improve the quality of the movement.

As such, mobilisation can include any of the following:

Alleviate muscle tension / improve soft-tissue integrity
Improve the length-tension relationship of antagonistic pairs of muscles
Downregulate facilitated muscles
Optimize joint range of motion in adjacent regions
Improve dissociation capacity
Promote proximal stability for distal mobility
Create stability for better joint centration

As you can see, it can be as much about mobility as it can be about stability, depending on the individual needs of the client, so there is much more to it than foam rolling and smashing.

This means that even the hypermobile client can benefit from a well thought out mobility intervention. To illustrate what kind of mobility work can be effective for the hypermobile client, read the blog article: “Mobility work for the hypermobile shoulder” by Rehab-U.

Mobilisation can be more passive or more active, depending on the client you are working with and on where within your programming you want to include your mobility work.

Definitions:

SMR (self-myofascial release): soft-tissue mobilization using a foam roller, lacrosse ball, tiger tail, tool or other implement

Self-mobilisation: joint mobilization techniques performed with assistance and/or movement such as, for example, thoracic spine extension performed with the elbows on a bench

Long duration passive stretch: static stretch held for over 1 minute

Active-assisted range of motion: moving actively through full range of motion with additional passive motion at end range using a band or other form of assistance

PNF stretch: hold-relax or contract relax stretch

Active range of motion: moving actively through full range of motion

Flows: combination of active range of motion exercises and or other movements in a continuous circuit

Loaded stretching: contracting a muscle while it is in a stretched position

THE STRATEGY IS KEY

Soft tissue release alone will not improve mobility, or the capacity to move freely and easily. While is not a bad tool, as with any tool, applied alone it will not change your life!

All interventions that target the human body need to be adjusted to context.

You will hear me say this over and over again:

“whenever we use a tool or intervention, we should always have a specific task in mind that will benefit from that intervention.”

If you find in your assessment that there are soft-tissue limitations, these can and should be addressed, as they will be a barrier to movement.

Because we know we can get an immediate, acute response with soft-tissue release, it can certainly be a first step to unlocking movement. But don’t stop there!

Let’s take a simple example of someone who wants to work on their hip mobility for the squat. More often than not, they’ll be releasing the muscles in and around the hip joint that can limit movement: hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, glutes.

I kid you not, this is hard!!!

With the Movement Optimization Strategy (Mobilization-Activation-Integration) it’s more about WHY you are choosing each tool than WHAT tool you are using.

As long as you understand what you are trying to achieve, any tool has the potential to be the right tool (except maybe putting a band around the knees during the squat LOL).

I repeat: whenever we use a tool or intervention, we should always have a specific task in mind that will benefit from that intervention.

The key to an efficient mobility strategy is both understanding the intricate relationship between muscles and joints and understanding that stability is an important factor in improving long-term mobility.

You need to target the muscles that may be limiting movement and the joints that may be perturbing the mobility-stability balance both above and below the area of concern.

Enjoyed this article? — Leave a comment below and why not share this on to spread the word about the truth behind foam rolling.

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