Isn't mobility and flexibility the same thing? They are about the same as shampoo and conditioner. Both are in the same family but one cleans the hair and one makes the hair silky and smooth... Hopefully you got that Billy Madison reference or this is not just awkward.
Anyway, no they are not the same thing. Flexibility the passive ability for tissue to get into a position while mobility is the ability to dynamically get into and control a position. For example, if someone is flexible enough to get into the splits, it does not mean they can push themselves out of it. However, if this person (definitely not me) can get into the splits, move and control themselves and get back out, then they not only have flexibility but they also have mobility.
Why does this matter? It matters because as an athlete performing dynamically (or a non athlete functioning in the real world) and under load in their environment, they not only have to get into certain positions but they must showcase strength, movement and power within these positions. If they do not have prerequisite flexibility (to get into the position) or mobility (functional control in these positions) they not only lose performance output but risk injury. They risk injury because the environment demands a certain position and task that they cannot demonstrate or control.
Isn't flexibility enough? Well, what if you only had shampoo and not conditioner? Your hair would get clean, but never silky and smooth (Billy Madison reference #2). In other words, the muscle tissue put in these positions will still risk injury due to the fact they don't know how to function or produce force here. In the splits example above, this person may still pull their groin muscle (while dynamically forced into this position in sport) even though they are flexible enough to get into this position. Until they train mobility they may not even be able to get into this position dynamically because of protective measures taken by the nervous system. This increases risk of injury because they may be forced here based on the sporting or life situation).
In order to train mobility, you must be able to not only get into the position demanded of you, but you must be able to control movement and demonstrate force while in it (strength and control in useable ranges of motion). In other words, sitting in positions and holding stretches will NOT improve mobility, just your flexibility. So the old thought of improving flexibility will reduce injury is not necessarily true if you do not back up your new found flexibility with mobility training.
In this unusually large image below is a basic example of flexibility vs mobility. The top picture shows a Strap Assisted Hamstring Stretch. The strap pulls on the leg to create a passive position (no tension, just holds) to increase range of motion of the posterior leg tissue. The second picture is an Active Straight Leg Raise where the range of motion is actively challenged and he must control the raising of the leg. You can even see his mobility is not as good of a range of motion as his flexibility because he has not yet trained mobility of this position long enough to match his active range of motion vs his passive range of motion. The small difference in range of motion is where he would be most vulnerable for an injury to take place because he cannot actively control it. It does however look like he uses shampoo and conditioner (Billy Madison reference #2.5).
Ok i've used "ility" too many times in this post so if you have questions regarding your flexibility and mobility training or want to know how you can implement them into your routine, reach out!
To your silky smooth hair and "performance for life"
Coach Rif
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