Body regions
Ankle mobility: range, strength, and balance
Measure ankle movement consistently, connect it with calf strength and balance, and choose an appropriate exercise progression.
Read guideThe complete library
The movement
library.
Find a guide by body region or topic. Browse exercise instructions, movement science, routines, and personal essays.
Body regions
Body regions
Hamstring tightness: stretching and nerve symptoms
Distinguish a stretching sensation from a possible injury, understand test limitations, and build comfortable bending and hamstring capacity.
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Hip mobility for shoes, stairs, and low chairs
Understand hip flexion, extension, and rotation; choose comfortable practice and distinguish available range from task requirements.
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Front-of-hip pain and pinching
Understand the limits of a pinching sensation, the diagnosis of hip impingement syndrome, and practical ways to adapt painful tasks.
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Knee pain: stairs, chair rises, and exercise
Adapt chair rises, stairs, and walking; understand knee osteoarthritis exercise evidence and when symptoms need assessment.
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Low back pain: activity, exercise, and scans
Understand back-pain assessment, exercise options, scan findings, and ways to rebuild daily activity with appropriate support.
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Neck pain: desk work, movement, and exercise
Consider neck symptoms, workstation demands, movement variation, and strengthening options without relying on a perfect-posture rule.
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Shoulder pain and rotator cuff rehabilitation
Understand shoulder assessment, rotator-cuff evidence, exercise choices, and ways to adapt reaching and loading.
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Upper-back mobility: rotation and extension
Explore upper-back rotation and extension, account for movement at neighboring joints, and connect practice to reaching and turning.
Read guideFoundations
Foundations
Core exercises for lifting, carrying, and getting up
Choose trunk exercises around force, endurance, breathing, and daily tasks instead of treating core stability as one universal correction.
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Stretching: how long to hold and when to use it
Choose stretching around flexibility goals, warm-up needs, and training demands; understand what range gains do and do not show.
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Movement mechanics: force, leverage, and support
Learn how leverage, support, range, and speed change exercise demands, with practical examples for lifting and daily tasks.
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Mobility: range of motion, strength, and control
Understand active and passive range, strength, task constraints, and ways to choose useful mobility practice.
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Pain symptoms: what to record and when to seek care
Describe symptoms, recognize urgent changes, adapt activity, and prepare useful questions for a pain assessment.
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Choose a guide and a starting point
Choose a path through pain, movement, exercise, and rehabilitation science based on the question you need to answer.
Read guideRoutines
Routines
A beginner week of movement and exercise
Plan a flexible week of movement practice, introductory strength, walking or other activity, and recovery with clear review questions.
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Desk breaks: 2, 5, or 8 minutes
Choose a 2, 5, or 8 minute desk break with seated, standing, and walking options that fit the workday.
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Adjust activity during a familiar symptom flare
Use an established care plan to adjust a known symptom flare, preserve manageable activity, and recognize when reassessment is needed.
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An 8–12 minute morning movement routine
Use an 8–12 minute morning movement example with seated options, supported standing work, and a shorter version.
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Movement routines for mornings, work, and recovery
Compare morning movement, desk breaks, a modified flare-up session, and a beginner week with clear purposes and flexible options.
Read guideMovement science
Movement science
Exercise loading and progression
Understand load, effort, repetitions in reserve, recovery, and the decisions that make an exercise programme progress.
Read guideMovement science
Pain, tissue damage, and scan findings
Learn how pain differs from nociception, why scan findings need context, and what a symptom response can tell you.
Read guideMovement science
Measuring progress: error, importance, and symmetry
Separate measurement error, meaningful change, and symmetry. Learn how to standardize a test and interpret a result.
Read guideMovement science
Motor learning: retention, transfer, and feedback
Learn the difference between a better practice repetition and durable motor learning, with examples of feedback and varied practice.
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Tendon loading: strength, holds, and elastic energy
Understand slow resistance, isometrics, energy-storage work, and the evidence behind progressive tendon rehabilitation.
Read guideMovement science
Balance, proprioception, and falls prevention
Understand balance, proprioception, stepping, and falls prevention. Choose meaningful tasks and recognize when assessment is needed.
Read guideMovement science
Returning to running after injury
Prepare an informed return-to-running discussion using diagnosis, walking tolerance, loading capacity, recovery, and the limits of common rules.
Read guideMovement science
How to read rehabilitation research
Evaluate exercise research through effect size, comparison groups, uncertainty, clinical importance, and applicability.
Read guideTools
Tools
Exercise library: setup and adjustments
Twelve exercise references with purpose, setup, manageable examples, easier options, and ways to develop the demand.
Open referenceTools
Movement log
Record exercise setup, dose, effort, symptom response, and follow-up. Save locally in your browser, edit entries, export CSV, or print.
Open referenceTools
Movement and rehabilitation glossary
A plain-language glossary of biomechanics, exercise, pain, motor learning, measurement, and rehabilitation research terms.
Open referenceField notes
Field notes
What I mean when a muscle feels tight
Anthony Mercer reflects on moving beyond the word tight, with an editorial companion on symptom descriptions and diagnostic limits.
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Why I kept the simplest exercises
Anthony Mercer on repeatable exercises, visible dose changes, and connecting a movement with daily function.
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The daily changes I noticed after a back injury
Anthony Mercer reflects on the ordinary tasks that made back-injury progress visible, with a companion guide to measuring function.
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What physiotherapy added to my recovery
Anthony Mercer on assessment, useful symptom records, and the questions that turn an exercise demonstration into a plan.
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How I decide when to rest
Anthony Mercer reflects on rest and activity transitions, with guidance on keeping a personal experience within its clinical context.
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Keeping up with exercise on difficult days
Anthony Mercer on minimum sessions, comparable doses, and reviewing a week without confusing consistency with sufficient training.
Read essayField notes
The desk adjustments that helped me
Anthony Mercer on workstation support, position changes, and practical transitions, with a companion discussion of posture and symptoms.
Read essayField notes
How I decide whether a stretch helps
Anthony Mercer on connecting stretches with a goal, with an editorial companion on range gains, evidence, and alternative exercise options.
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