What Are BlackBoard Mobilisation Bars?
Our feet are meant to be more flexible than they really are. Feet are meant to exercise articulation and dynamic movement, but throughout our lives, we constrain them through shoes that impede their natural function. We subject our feet daily to restraints that affect our overall foot health, making them stiff and rigid. Instead of encouraging our feet to be free, we limit their capabilities, which, over time, can lead to different conditions. One of the best ways to restore our feet to their full potential is using BlackBoard mobilisation bars.
BlackBoard mobilisation bars are rigid or semi-rigid, lined on some sides with a material akin to BlackBoards, with arches underneath. They’re designed to put your feet through many different positions to increase flexibility and fluidity of motion.
You can arrange your BlackBoard mobilisation bars in different ways to create different angles and ranges of motion, making for a very versatile training routine, creating more efficient footfalls, reducing your chances of injury, and increasing your overall foot health.
In short, BlackBoard mobilisation bars can help mobilise the joints and soft tissues of the foot, including the toes, metatarsals and ankle joints. This mobilisation helps to restore normal joint motion, alleviate stiffness and improve overall foot function.
Mobilisation Bars Help Improve Range of Motion
BlackBoard mobilisation bars are handy in strengthening your feet and the different related joints across many ranges of motion. This overall flexibility can reduce your chances of injury and help strengthen certain joints if used correctly.
For example, it’s possible to use mobilisation bars to increase your ankle mobility or durability, a benefit for runners with weak ankles. BlackBoard mobilisation bars can condition your feet to uneven terrain as your feet become more accustomed to what we may consider unnatural positions, like during trail running. BlackBoard mobilisation bars can also help relax the feet by applying acute pressure via the BlackBoard to tight muscles. Overly tight muscles in the feet can lead to rigidity and prevent the foot from properly absorbing impact. The additional flexibility can help avoid injuries when trail running or any movement on uneven terrain.
Mobilisation bars can also be very helpful for your overall balance, a key trait of any steadfast runner. The exercises often require you to apply different pressure levels to one foot while maintaining a steady balance with the other. This can help build a better connection between the muscle and mind, building the foot’s intrinsic muscles.
What Conditions Can Mobilisation Bars Help Treat?
Mobilisation bars can be a helpful part of a treatment plan for certain foot conditions. However, they have to be used in conjunction with other methods, and with the advice of an experienced podiatrist, they can be an easy way to benefit your recovery.
For patients with plantar fasciitis, mobilisation bars can help alleviate tension and tightness in the plantar fascia, the thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. The gentle stretches of the mobilisation bars can improve flexibility in the plantar fascia, reducing pain.
Similarly, mobilisation bars can help stretch and activate the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon, helping people with Achilles tendonitis. And, for those with overpronation – the excessive inward rolling of the foot –or oversupination – the excessive outward rolling of the foot – mobilisation bars can be a positive addition to their exercise routines.
By performing exercises and mobilisation techniques with the bars, you can help strengthen the muscles that support the arch of the foot and improve overall foot alignment.
The bars can help with rehabilitation, strengthening the weakened muscles and building mobility to prevent further injury. The movements in mobilisation bars are so slight and can be modified by supporting the person’s weight, which can be done by many people recovering from foot injuries.
It’s extremely important that you work with a podiatrist or specialist before using your mobilisation bars. They can help ensure you understand the proper technique before you start, potentially exacerbating an issue. Here are some sample exercises you can do at home to help improve ankle mobility.
If restoring your foot to its natural potential sounds like something you’d like to do, contact us today to find out how a BlackBoard Mobilisation Bar can become a part of your exercise or recovery routine.s.
