Mobility and Stretching While in Quarantine

​Even though we may not be exercising daily and maintaining a strict workout schedule, our mobility and flexibility need to continue to improve. While we sit at home working, our body begins to naturally settle into the positions we are consistently in. When we let our body sit in one position and leave it uncorrected, we cause tightness and weakness in certain areas in our body that are important for general health and athletic performance.
The areas we are most exposed to causing pain, soreness, and tight muscles are our:

• Neck
• Low Back
• Hip Flexors

Throughout the day, one of the most unsupported parts of our body is the neck. With little support and lack of proper positioning, we cause our neck and head to rotate forward adding 10lbs of pressure every degree forward our head sits forward from its natural position! This is directly loaded to our cervical spine and causes residual issues like “tech neck” and a protruding C-spine.
The next area to address is our low back. With most chairs and “comfy” positions meaning we are lengthening our lower back and causing an unnatural rotation of our lumbar spine. This consistent lengthening in our low back then leads to weakness not only in our low back but our core. Core being one of the most important stabilizers in sport, it is imperative we strengthen it rather than weaken.
Thirdly, our hip flexors. Tight hip flexors can be caused by chronic sitting, improper stretching techniques, and weaken our low back further causing our hips to tilt! This tilt then limits the amount of activation our glutes have during major activities in sport such as sprinting, squatting, and deadlifting!
While we are home, Perfect Performance will offer a complimentary stretching and mobility routine that can be done in 30 minutes with no equipment at all. This will allow for our bodies to continue to be prepared for the return to athletics! Do not put yourself at a disadvantage because you forgot to stretch!
​