The ankle is one of the smallest joints in the body and one of the most consequential. What happens here affects everything above it, and most people don't give it a second thought until they're hobbling off a curb. What most people don't realize is that ankle instability rarely results from bad luck. It usually comes down to a combination of structure, strength, and body awareness. Taking the time to understand how the ankle works will give you power over that uneven curb.

Most of us grow up learning about the circulatory system, and the respiratory system. The lymphatic system rarely gets the same introduction and it works just as hard, quietly keeping your immune system strong, your tissues clear of waste, and your body in balance. Once you understand what it's doing, it starts to feel a lot more relevant to how you feel day to day.

Largely, your hip and low back pain stem from imbalances in the muscles connecting to the pelvis, femurs, and lumbar spine. Improving your hip mobility in a functional way is about balancing the strength and development of these different muscle groups. But how do we know what area is a problem?