Can you shake it up and move all around?

This pose, done on the mobility balance mat, tests your side balance and ankle/hip/knee mobility. — Photos: RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star

“My bones are stiff, I can’t touch my toes!”

How many times have you said this or heard others saying it?

If you can’t touch your toes, it’s probably because your muscles (hamstrings, calves and lower back) are tight – it’s got nothing to do with your “bones” being stiff.

The human body is extremely unstable, anatomically, with a small base relative to its height.

To maintain an upright position while moving is a constant challenge for our bodies, and with age and inactivity, our balance and mobility starts to weaken.

When your mobility starts to go, the unconscious processes your brain goes through to help you balance may not integrate as well or as quickly as they used to, and you start to have difficulty balancing on one or two legs.

The layperson often gets confused between flexibility and mobility, thinking both are the same.

They are not.

Flexibility is the ability of a muscle to be lengthened, while mobility is the ability of a joint to move through a range of motion, with control.

The concept of mobility incorporates flexibility, but not necessarily vice-versa.

Being flexible alone is not enough as you can stretch your body into all kinds of position, but you may not be able to control the muscle lengthening.

A person with great mobility has the full range of motion, plus the neuromuscular control and strength to move through any movement patterns without restriction.

At any age, we want more mobility than flexibility to keep us moving independently.

You want to be able to pick something off the floor (which uses your back and knees), reach into the wardrobe for a dress or shirt (shoulder), go up and down the stairs (ankles) and easily get in and out of the chair (hip).

If your joints are stiff, then you may feel some tightness around them, which usually happens in the morning.

You may experience pain when trying to straighten your legs when you wake up.

For the majority, it’s a normal process as we age and is no cause for alarm.

For people who suffer from arthritis, this morning pain or stiffness may be caused by a lack of lubrication in the joint spaces, or from a breakdown in the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones.

This can happen in your back, fingers, wrists, knees, ankles or feet.

The pain should resolve within 10-15 minutes, and gentle stretching and a hot shower can help relax the muscles.

Do it right

When an individual becomes less mobile, he or she may start to avoid activities and social events, leading to a feeling of isolation.

Here’s a simple stretch that everyone should do daily: sit on a chair, use two fingers, reach for your toes, wait 10 seconds, then switch sides.

This can take a serious toll on one’s mental health.

Additionally, a person can experience isolation as mobility decreases, not just at the point of reaching disability.

When you can move and do the things you’re used to doing, you feel good.

Not only is mobility good for your body, it’s also good for your mind and your self-esteem.

So, incorporating a steady stream of exercises for both flexibility and mobility into your training plan right now will go a long way.

As it stands, 27.5% of people globally do not get enough physical activity, according to a 2018 study published in The Lancet Global Health journal, which involved nearly two million people.

Sufficient physical activity is defined as at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week.

According to physiotherapist Chang Zhong Han, there are three key ways to maintain mobility: muscle strengthening via nutrition and exercise, protecting the knee joint and choosing the right mobility aid tools.

The strengthening exercises can be tailored for the healthy person, those with walking sticks, those requiring two-hand support and the bedridden or wheelchair-bound.

“A lot of people have knee issues, but only use knee support when they are exercising.

“Or they think the support is not working.

“This is because they are either wearing the wrong size or wrong type of support.

“Wearing a knee guard helps stabilise the knee joint by holding the muscles in place, so it is advisable to wear it on a daily basis, even while doing household chores.

“You can take it off while sleeping,” he says, adding that for vigorous activities, one should wear a knee guard, but for general walking, a knee sleeve should suffice.

Then there are others who refrain from exercising because of knee pain.

Chang points out, “You should continue to walk with proper protection (wear support) because knee pain will only get worse without a minimal level of mobility due to poor blood circulation to the knee.

“When there is inadequate delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the knee, the pain worsens, and you don’t want that.”

Also, without sufficient knee movement, there will be an uneven distribution of joint fluid, which then results in severe joint stiffness.

When it comes to choosing mobility aid tools, another concern is that people tend to choose the wrong type of wheelchair or walking aid that does not match their current level of mobility.

You’ve seen them before: the ones who struggle to balance while walking, or who use a single walking stick, but need two hands to grab onto something to climb a step up or down.

Sadly, no one has evaluated their problem or given them advice on choosing the correct support.

Quite a few people I know buy mobility tools online for their older parents, without checking if the tool is appropriate.

Get assessed

Chang shows how to do a simple balance test on one leg; if you can stand like this on each leg for 30 seconds respectively, then your balance is fine.

As part of its community initiative to increase awareness on how to recover or maintain mobility as we age, Alpro Pharmacy is having a mobility balance and recovery campaign at all its outlets nationwide.

Just walk into any store, try the exercises and get your mobility assessed by a physiotherapist.

This has nothing to do with how fit you are, so all age groups should give the free assessment a go.

All you have to do is stand on the mobility balance mat without shoes and reach one leg out in different directions, with guidance from the physiotherapist.

The exercises look easy, but to be mobile while balancing on one leg requires quite an effort, as my photographer and I found out.

We were both sweating buckets at the end of it – also partly due to the pressure from onlookers!

You’ll be advised accordingly based on your score, and if need be, given specific exercises to work on to improve your mobility.

A month later, you can give it another go to check your progress.

Revathi Murugappan is a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email [e-mail]. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.