Know When to Call a Pro
Mobility Training Tip #7: Know When to Call a Pro
You've been grinding on that golf ball for weeks. You've watched every YouTube mobility video. You've invested in bands, rollers, and stretching tools. And yet that nagging restriction in your hip—or shoulder, or ankle—just won't budge. Here's what you need to hear: some problems require more than self-care. Knowing when to call in a professional isn't admitting defeat. It's smart strategy.
The Better Approach: Self-mobilization is powerful and should be your foundation. But there are limitations to what you can accomplish on your own. You can't assess yourself objectively. You can't feel your own tissue quality or joint mechanics the way a skilled practitioner can. You can't manually access certain structures or create the specific joint mobilizations that might be the missing piece. A qualified manual physical therapist, osteopath, or movement specialist brings trained hands, objective assessment, and clinical expertise that can unlock stubborn restrictions self-work simply can't touch. The best approach? Combine professional intervention with diligent self-care for optimal results.
Why This Works: Some mobility restrictions have underlying causes that require professional diagnosis: joint capsule restrictions, nerve tension, fascial adhesions in hard-to-reach areas, movement compensations you can't see yourself, or even structural issues that need medical attention. A skilled professional can perform a comprehensive movement assessment (like FMS or SFMA), identify the root cause rather than chasing symptoms, provide hands-on manual therapy techniques that create changes self-care can't, and design a targeted corrective program specific to your restrictions. They're also trained to recognize when something needs medical imaging or specialist referral—potentially catching serious issues before they become major problems.
How to Apply This:
Try consistent self-work for 4–6 weeks first
Seek professional help when:
Restrictions persist despite consistent effort
You experience pain, not just tightness
Movement asymmetries are obvious
You've had an injury that's not fully healing
Performance has plateaued despite training
You need objective assessment and programming
Look for practitioners with:
Manual therapy certification (CMPT, COMT, DO)
Movement assessment credentials (FMS, SFMA, PRI)
Strong understanding of biomechanics and functional movement
Client education focus (they teach you, not just treat you)
Use professional sessions to accelerate progress, then maintain with self-care
Ask: "Can this practitioner help me become independent, or do they want me dependent on treatment?"
Example: You have chronic shoulder restriction that's limiting your tennis serve. You've done months of self-mobility work with modest improvement. You see a skilled movement specialist who performs a thorough assessment and discovers: limited first rib mobility affecting your shoulder mechanics, thoracic spine restrictions you couldn't address alone, and scapular dyskinesis you weren't aware of. They perform specific joint mobilizations, teach you self-care techniques you'd never find on YouTube, and create a targeted corrective program. Three sessions later, combined with your daily homework, you've gained more range than six months of random stretching ever produced.
Finding Quality Help:
Physical therapists with manual therapy certification
Osteopaths (DO) with orthopedic focus
Certified movement specialists (FMS, SFMA providers)
Sports chiropractors with active release or functional movement training
Avoid: practitioners who only want to see you 3x/week forever with passive treatments
The goal of good professional help isn't creating dependence—it's giving you the assessment, treatment, and education to solve problems you can't solve alone, then empowering you to maintain the results independently.
Self-care is essential. Professional expertise is sometimes necessary. Know the difference, and use both wisely.
