Many people know that improving mobility and flexibility is important, but very few know where to focus and how to create long-term change. If you are simply doing mobility work or stretching for the sake of doing it - you’re probably leaving a lot on the table when it comes to less pain or better performance.

Focusing on the areas listed below will not only get you feeling great, but they will also help how you perform in the gym or with your active lifestyle. If you’ve ever dealt with stiffness, tightness, or injury in your knees, back, or shoulders - then you should double down on these areas.

After working with high level athletes and everyday active individuals in our Performance Physical Therapy Practice, I firmly believe the majority of knee, back, and shoulder pain or injury would be resolved if people had the right mobility in the areas listed below.

After working with hundreds of clients over the past 5 years to help them get out of pain and perform their best, these are the 3 areas to focus your mobility work on if you want to see less pain, stiffness, or better performance.

1: Ankle Mobility

Ankles can get stiff over time from the lack of time spent barefoot or getting into deep squats and the amount of time spent in shoes. When the ankles become stiff, it shifts a lot of stress to your knees with running, jumping, and squatting. To combat this, spend more time barefoot or squatting as low as you can without the heels lifting off the ground.

If you have trouble squatting low without your heels lifting off the ground, take some more time working on your ankle mobility.

2: Hip Mobility

The amount of time spent sitting, and the lack of focus on these areas during workouts, is a big cause of your hips getting stiff over time. When the hips get stiff, this greatly impacts both your lower back and your knees. To combat this, spend more time with targeted mobility work or simply sit on the floor more often.

If you have trouble touching your toes or sitting cross legged on the ground, take some more time working on your hip mobility.

3: Thoracic Mobility

Our lives are now lived sitting, driving, and on our phones/computers. This leads to your thoracic spine (mid/upper back area) to get very stiff over time. Over time this can lead to neck, shoulder, and lower back pain or stiffness. To combat this, spend more time with rotational and extension movements for your mid/upper back.

If you sit a lot throughout the day or can’t easily reach your hands all the way overhead, take some time working on your thoracic mobility.

Not sure where to start with these? I put together a 30 Day Mobility Challenge that addresses these 3 areas (as well as other common 'problem' areas). If you want to access the free mobility challenge with daily videos included - get signed up here and get started on Day 1 today.