by Mike Davis
DOES STABILITY PRECEDE MOBILITY OR DOES MOBILITY PRECEDE STABILITY?
There are various schools of thought concerning this question. Some believe that in order for one to exhibit mobility, proximal stability must take place to provide a foundation to support said movement. Some believe that without mobility there is nothing to stabilize. Thus, mobility must come before stability. Then there are others that reside within the various shades of grey of these two ideas.
While neither of these ideas trump the other and neither of these ideas are incorrect, I will propose a slightly different way of approaching this dilemma. Let us explore these ideas in an attempt to gain understanding.
While the concepts of stability and mobility have been around for some time, two prominent figures have been assigned as leaders of each: Shirley Sahrmann and Gray Cook. Sahrmann believes that stability needs precede mobility. Cook believes that mobility needs precede stability. The goal of this article is not to explore the differences of these approaches in an attempt to elevate one over the other, but to explore a common ground of which these two approaches can potentially become one.
A case for stability before mobility
It is much easier to shoot a cannon from a battleship than it is from a canoe. The battleship offers a stable platform from which the cannon can be mobilized/operated with success. The canoe offers little stability and therefore complicates the successful operation of the cannon. The body does not differ in this respect. It is widely accepted that proximal stability gives way to distal mobility. Nothing illustrates this better than watching a baby go through the process of developmental kinesiology.
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