A few weeks ago I posted a question about hip mobility in a facebook group. One of the women who responded said, “mobility to me sounds like it is just for old people. As someone (who is) 48 with sore hips, I would feel embarrassed going for ‘mobility’ anything at this age.”
I am 10 years younger, at 38 and the idea that “mobility is for old people” never crossed my mind.
The truth is, hip mobility isn’t just for seniors or old people. However, it’s common for our bodies to stiffen and tighten up as we age. This has a lot to do with becoming more sedentary as we get older, but it’s also a biological reality. Our bodies lose fluid as we age, specifically the synovial fluid that lubricates our joints and our cartilage thins out.
We literally dry up as we get older.
The thing is, we can dry up sooner if we don’t keep our joints mobile starting now.
This means that the more sedentary you are now, the more you will prematurely age your joints. Or, if you’re only focused on strength or stability and you don’t have dynamic movement as part of your daily fitness/health practices, you’ll also start to limit the capacity of your joints.
Let’s define mobility for a moment, just to be really clear:
Mobility is how your joints move. Hip mobility affects how you walk, but it also impacts how easy it is to get in and out of your car. The range of motion of your hips will also impact how easy it is for you to put on your clothes or bend down to put on your shoes. And your hip mobility can impact how easy it is for you to get down on the floor to play with your kids, then get up again.
When we’re young, we take mobility for granted, especially if we have it naturally — not everyone does, although everyone can work on increasing their range of motion, no matter what they start with.
Hip mobility isn’t just for seniors. It’s for everyone who wants healthier hips now and always.
If you wait until you’re older to finally focus on mobility, it’s going to be harder.
There is no right age to start working on mobility, except the age you are now.
Learn more about how to have healthy hips in my upcoming webinar HOW TO BE HIP FOREVER, this Monday November 18th, 12pm EST.
