Jason assessing a client's hip rotation on the mat at IMS

Home / Movement self-check

Find out what your joints are actually doing.

Six checks you can do right now, on your kitchen floor, with no equipment. Four minutes. You'll get a read on which areas are moving well and which are worth a closer look.

Before you start. This is a movement screen, not a medical assessment — it doesn't diagnose anything and it isn't a substitute for a licensed healthcare provider. Move slowly. If anything is painful, stop. Pain is a reason to see a physician or physical therapist, not a result to record here.
  1. Check 01 of 6

    Shoulders overhead

    Stand with your back flat against a wall — heels, hips, and head touching. Keeping your low back pressed to the wall, raise both arms straight overhead and try to touch the backs of your hands to the wall above you.

  2. Check 02 of 6

    Deep squat

    Feet about shoulder width, toes forward. Squat down as far as you can with your heels flat on the floor and your chest up. No weight, no rush.

  3. Check 03 of 6

    Ankle to wall

    Face a wall in a half-kneeling position, front foot about a hand's length from the wall. Drive your front knee forward toward the wall without letting that heel lift.

  4. Check 04 of 6

    Seated rotation

    Sit tall on a chair with your knees together and arms crossed over your chest. Rotate your upper body one direction as far as you can without your knees or hips moving. Then the other side.

  5. Check 05 of 6

    Hip rotation

    Sit on the floor with knees bent and feet wide apart. Let one knee drop inward toward the floor, then the other. Keep both sitting bones down.

  6. Check 06 of 6

    Neck rotation

    Sit or stand tall, shoulders relaxed and still. Turn your head to look over one shoulder, then the other. Chin stays level.

Or skip straight to it

The full version takes thirty minutes and costs nothing.

Six checks tell you something. A full joint-by-joint assessment tells you what to do about it.