Checking In with Your Body: Spotting Subtle Losses in Motion

In our fast-paced lives, we often go through our days without pausing to check in with our bodies. We might not notice the small changes in how we move, until they turn into larger issues. One day, you might realize that reaching for a top shelf feels a little harder, or that sitting cross-legged on the floor is no longer comfortable. The good news is that many of these changes are reversible with awareness and intentional action.

Why it happens

Range of motion (ROM) is the amount of movement available in a joint or series of joints. It’s a key component of functional movement, allowing you to perform everyday tasks like bending, reaching, and twisting. Over time small, progressive decreases in ROM can affect your overall quality of life, leading to compensations in your movements, discomfort, or even injury.

Connective tissue, particularly the fascia that wraps around muscle and organs, responds to the loads placed on it. Use a joint regularly through its full range and the tissue stays supple, hydrated, and responsive. Restrict that range or don’t regularly use it, and the tissue begins to adapt. Collagen fibers reorganize along lines of tension, cross-links form between adjacent layers of fascia and the joint capsule tightens. Over months and years, what was once a temporary stiffness from sitting too long becomes the new baseline.

Consider a few common patterns. Office work keeps the hips flexed and the thoracic spine (upper back) rounded forward for a majority of the day. Driving does much the same thing. Scrolling on a phone drops the head forward, loading the cervical spine (neck) with forces for hours at a time. If you sleep in one favorite position every night, it can mean entire planes of shoulder or hip movement get ignored. Many of these small things together, especially as we age, contribute into restrictions.

Where do you stand?

Think of this as a friendly self-assessment you could do every few weeks or once a month to evaluate your body’s mobility. Here are some simple ways to check your range of motion:

1. Neck Mobility

• Slowly turn your head to the right, as if looking over your shoulder. Repeat on the left side.

• Bring your chin to your chest, then look up toward the ceiling.

• Notice any tightness or restriction in these movements.

2. Shoulder Flexibility

• Raise your arms overhead. Can you bring your biceps close to your ears without arching your back?

• Reach one arm across your chest, using the other hand to gently press it closer. Does this feel different on one side compared to the other?

• Reach one hand up and over your same shoulder, and the other hand up from the waist behind your back. Notice how close your hands can get to each other (it helps to either do this in front of a mirror or use a towel held in your hands to help gauge). Repeat on the other side.

3. Spine Rotation and Flexion

• Sit tall on a chair and twist to the right, placing your left hand on the outside of your right knee for support. Repeat on the left side.

• Slowly roll down toward your toes, one vertebra at a time, then come back up. Take note of any stiffness or areas where movement feels restricted and how far you can go.

4. Hip and Lower Body Mobility

• Sit cross-legged or in a butterfly position (soles of feet together). Is one side tighter than the other?

• Try a deep squat, keeping your heels on the ground if you can. It may help to have something fixed in front of you to hold for balance, or do this with your back against the wall for support. Does it feel natural and comfortable or do you feel restricted?

• Kneel on one knee with the other foot forward, and gently press the hips forward without arching the lower back. Do your hip flexor muscles feel tight? 

5. Ankle Flexibility

• In a standing position, bend your knees slightly and let them move forward over your toes while keeping your heels on the ground. Can you achieve a decent bend without discomfort?

Make It a Habit

Regular body check-ins don’t have to take long, but they can yield significant benefits. By paying attention to your body’s subtle signals, you can maintain your mobility, prevent injuries, and keep moving with ease as you age.

So, take a moment today to check in with your body. What’s it telling you? The more you listen, the better you’ll move.