When clinicians think of joint mobilizations, they think of clinicians moving joints at the level of the joint with their hands, which is true. This applies to the spine as well as the extremities. However, joints can be less-precisely mobilized - or moved - without that specific technique. In fact, if my goal for a movement is to move a joint versus, say, stretch something or strengthen something, I call it a joint mobilization. More loosely, we can just call it a movement or an exercise, but the intent is what matters - and the intent is to move the joint in a specific direction (its directional preference).
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Sometimes the technique or the force applied by a clinician via mobilization or manipulation is necessary temporarily. But in the large majority of cases diagnosed as joint derangement, patients can learn how to mobilize themselves. In the trickier cases, we might have to figure out how to get assistance from some equipment at their home or from another person. When mobilizations (with or without a lot of force) are necessary as treatment, the results will be better the more often you do them. That said, in order to get those reps, it’s imperative we teach patients how to self-mobilize the best we can. The McKenzie method is predicated on teaching people how to self-treat in order to improve outcomes. My hands aren’t magic and I’m here to teach. -- Laura

People end up replacing and fusing their joints, not their muscles. We must focus on keeping joints healthy, not just muscles. Yes, having muscle strength helps support joints, and training muscles for endurance and strength inevitably moves joints. But focusing on joints is different than simply getting the byproducts of working out muscles. The best way to monitor joint health is monitoring range of motion. The great news is that maintaining range of motion only takes minutes a day. It’s easy to preserve full motion with self-mobilizations once you have it and once you understand the factors that decrease it. For example, you can check your shoulder mobility in one minute. Want to strip it down to the bare minimum? I’d say make sure you can reach all the way up your back and that you can elevate your arm all the way up, out to the side.

Please keep working out those muscles - they're important for musculoskeletal as well as overall health. It’s easy to see, though, that joints more often fail, not muscles. In addition to controlling lifestyle factors, we can also very easily “exercise” our joints. The most important thing is to get joints all the way to end range (especially your spine!) and make sure you can continue to do so. This is what I teach my patients how to do.  --Laura