Part 6: How to Assess Your Own Mobility and Build a Personalized Plan
Hello and welcome back! I'm Dr. Keirstyn, founder, chiropractor and endurance coach at Endurance Therapeutics. In Blog 3, we covered the specific mobility drills runners, cyclists, swimmers, and triathletes need. In Blog 4, we broke down what court and field athletes need that's different. In Blog 5, we covered mobility for hockey players. But here's the thing: not every athlete needs the same mobility work, even within the same sport.
Your mobility restrictions are unique to your body, your training history, your injury history, and the demands you place on your body. A runner who spends 8 hours a day sitting at a desk has different restrictions than a runner who works on their feet. A hockey player who's been playing for 20 years has different restrictions than a hockey player who just started.
In this part, we're breaking down how to assess your own mobility, identify your biggest restrictions, and build a personalized mobility plan that fits your sport and your training schedule.
Why You Need to Assess Your Mobility
Most athletes skip the assessment and jump straight into mobility drills. They pick exercises that look hard or that they saw on Instagram, and they assume that if it's difficult, it must be working.
That's not how mobility works.
Mobility work is most effective when it's targeted. You need to know where your restrictions are, what's causing them, and what movement patterns are compensating for them. Otherwise, you're guessing.
Here's what a good mobility assessment tells you:
Where you're restricted: Which joints have limited range of motion
What's compensating: Which areas are overworking to make up for the restriction
What injury patterns you're at risk for: Based on your restrictions and your sport
Once you know that, you can build a mobility plan that actually addresses your restrictions instead of just doing random drills.
The Four Areas Every Athlete Should Assess
No matter what sport you do, there are four areas that matter most for mobility:
Hip mobility (flexion, extension, internal rotation, external rotation)
Ankle mobility (dorsiflexion)
Thoracic spine mobility (extension and rotation)
Shoulder mobility (flexion, extension, internal rotation, external rotation)
Let's break down how to assess each one.
1. Hip Mobility: The Foundation of Almost Every Movement Pattern
Your hips are the foundation of your movement. If your hips don't move well, everything else compensates. Your lower back takes over for hip extension. Your knees collapse inward to make up for hip internal rotation. Your ankles roll to compensate for hip external rotation.
Here's how to assess your hip mobility:
Hip Flexion Test:
Lie on your back with both legs straight. Pull one knee toward your chest as far as it will go without your lower back lifting off the ground. Your opposite leg should stay flat on the ground.
What you're looking for: Your knee should reach your chest without your lower back lifting, and your opposite leg should stay flat on the ground.
What it means if you can't: Tight hip flexors on the opposite side, or restricted hip flexion on the side you're testing.
Hip Extension Test:
Lie on your back at the edge of a table or bed. Pull one knee toward your chest and let the opposite leg hang off the edge.
What you're looking for: Your hanging leg should drop below the level of the table without your lower back arching.
What it means if you can't: Tight hip flexors on the hanging leg.
Hip Internal Rotation Test:
Sit on the ground with both legs bent 90 degrees in front of you (one leg externally rotated, one leg internally rotated, like a 90/90 position). Try to switch sides without using your hands.
What you're looking for: You should be able to switch sides smoothly without your hips hiking up or your torso rotating.
What it means if you can't: Restricted hip internal rotation on one or both sides.
Hip External Rotation Test:
Lie on your back with both knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Let your knees fall out to the sides (like a frog stretch).
What you're looking for: Your knees should drop toward the ground without your lower back arching.
What it means if you can't: Restricted hip external rotation.
2. Ankle Mobility: The Key to Knee and Hip Health
Your ankle is the foundation of your lower body. If your ankle doesn't move well, your knee compensates by collapsing inward, and your hip compensates by rotating. That's how you end up with knee pain, hip impingement, and lower back pain.
Here's how to assess your ankle mobility:
Ankle Dorsiflexion Test:
Stand facing a wall with one foot forward. Drive your knee toward the wall while keeping your heel on the ground.
What you're looking for: Your knee should be able to travel at least 4 inches past your toes without your heel lifting.
What it means if you can't: Restricted ankle dorsiflexion, which is one of the most common restrictions in athletes.
3. Thoracic Spine Mobility: The Key to Shoulder and Lower Back Health
Your thoracic spine is the middle of your spine, from the base of your neck to the bottom of your rib cage. It's designed to rotate and extend. When it doesn't, your lower back and shoulders compensate.
Here's how to assess your thoracic mobility:
Thoracic Extension Test:
Lie on your back with a foam roller under your mid back. Support your head with your hands and extend your thoracic spine over the roller.
What you're looking for: You should be able to extend your thoracic spine without your ribs flaring or your lower back arching.
What it means if you can't: Restricted thoracic extension, which is extremely common in athletes who spend time in a flexed position (cyclists, hockey players, desk workers).
Thoracic Rotation Test:
Sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Place one hand behind your head and rotate your torso toward that side, keeping your hips still.
What you're looking for: You should be able to rotate at least 45 degrees to each side without your hips moving.
What it means if you can't: Restricted thoracic rotation, which forces your lower back to rotate instead.
4. Shoulder Mobility: The Key to Overhead Movement and Rotator Cuff Health
Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body, and it's also the most unstable. If your shoulder doesn't move well, your rotator cuff compensates, and that's how you end up with shoulder impingement and rotator cuff injuries.
Here's how to assess your shoulder mobility:
Shoulder Flexion Test:
Lie on your back with both legs straight and both arms at your sides. Raise one arm overhead, keeping your elbow straight and your ribs down.
What you're looking for: Your arm should be able to reach the ground behind your head without your ribs flaring or your lower back arching.
What it means if you can't: Restricted shoulder flexion, or compensations from your thoracic spine or lower back.
Shoulder Internal Rotation Test:
Lie on your side with your bottom arm bent 90 degrees at the elbow. Rotate your forearm toward the ground.
What you're looking for: Your forearm should be able to reach the ground without your shoulder rolling forward.
What it means if you can't: Restricted shoulder internal rotation, which is common in swimmers, triathletes, and overhead athletes.
How to Build a Personalized Mobility Plan
Once you've assessed your mobility, here's how to build a plan:
Step 1: Identify your biggest restrictions:
Look at the tests above and note which ones you failed or struggled with. Those are your priority areas.
Step 2: Match your restrictions to your sport:
If you're a runner and you have restricted hip extension, that's a priority. If you're a hockey player and you have restricted thoracic extension, that's a priority. Focus on the restrictions that matter most for your sport.
Step 3: Pick 2 to 3 drills per restriction:
Go back to Blogs 3, 4, and 5 and pick the drills that match your restrictions. You don't need to do every drill. You need to do the ones that address your specific restrictions.
Step 4: Program them into your training:
Daily: CARs for your biggest restrictions (5 to 10 minutes, part of your warm up)
2 to 3 times per week: Strength based mobility drills (10 to 15 minutes, part of your strength training or cool down)
Step 5: Reassess every 4 to 6 weeks:
Mobility takes time. Reassess every 4 to 6 weeks to see if your restrictions are improving, and adjust your plan as needed.
What Comes Next
Mobility work is most effective when it's targeted. You don't need to do every drill. You need to do the ones that address your specific restrictions and match the demands of your sport.
In Blog 7, we're going to put it all together and show you how to program mobility work into your training schedule, how to balance it with your strength training and sport-specific work, and how to make it sustainable long term.
If you've been dealing with tightness, compensations, or recurring injuries and you're not sure where to start, book your session at Endurance Therapeutics today to get a full mobility assessment and a personalized plan that fits your body and your sport.
📍 Endurance Therapeutics | Oakville, Ontario
📞 905-288-7161