Why You May Experience Back Pain - Hip Mobility Test

Strength, power & muscle mass sound sexy and fun, joint mobility & flexibility doesn't! Unfortunately without the mobility you can't achieve the sexy stuff, sorry. Both mobility & flexibility are essential to not only developing potential but also remaining in the gym, pain & injury free.
When teaching fitness courses an area that always rouses student interest is the movement screening section. This workshop enables us to determine joint mobility, muscle flexibility and potential injury risk. We primarily use 3 tests that'll determine basic mobility of four major joints:

• Ankle - Narrow Stance Squat
• Hip - Active Straight Leg Raise
• Thoracic Spine & Shoulder - Shoulder Mobility Test

Below I will detail how to perform and interpret each test with the potential outcomes of scoring poorly on that given test. You will need a partner & camera to help with measurement.

Active Straight Leg Raise
This test will assess the mobility of the hip joint and surrounding muscles such as hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, hip adductors and calves. Adequate hip mobility is essential to performing day to day tasks such as lifting from the floor and running at any speed.
Hip mobility is also essential for correct deadlift & squat mechanics and the development of muscle (bum, thighs, hamstrings etc) around the hip area. A reduction in hip mobility will likely lead to upper leg muscle strains and lower back discomfort and pain.

​To perform:

1. Lie down on the floor back facing down. Legs straight, feet together, toes pointing toward the ceiling, arms placed by your side.
2. Maintaining straight legs (a very small bend is acceptable) raise one leg up as high as possible holding the end position.
3. You must stop moving the leg higher if any of these three points occur:
   1. The knee of the raising leg bends
   2. The knee of the ground leg bends and moves away from the ground
   3. The toes of the ground leg move outwards and no longer point towards the ceiling

How to measure:

1. You require a partner to place a stick in-line with the bottom of your fingers. The stick will touch the ground just underneath your fingertips, pointing towards the ceiling. Repeat the movement. At the hold position take a photo from the side.
2. Now place the stick in-line with the center of the knee cap repeating the movement. At the hold position take a photo from the side view.

Interpreting the test: