The Body Audit for Dads
Six Things Your Body Should Still Be Able to Do
And What It Means If They’re Getting Harder
By Leslie Budzynski DC ~ BCA Registered Chiropractor (BCA Reg. No. 0072) since 1987 & GCC Registered Chiropractor (GCC Reg. No. 00043) since 1999 | Bournemouth Chiropractic | A Focus on Men’s Health Week 2026: 15–21 June
There’s a particular kind of denial that sets in somewhere around your mid-thirties onwards.
You don’t notice it happening. One day you’re rolling out of bed without a second thought. The next, you’re doing a small, private risk assessment before you stand up. You know the one. The little negotiation you have with yourself before you commit to standing up. The involuntary grunt or groan that escapes when rising from a chair or bed. Your body’s unscripted commentary on the effort involved.
You’re not falling apart. But something has quietly shifted and you’ve quietly adjusted your life around it. These changes happen gradually, it’s all very sneaky.
The late nights hit harder now. Not just emotionally but physically. A run of poor sleep used to be annoying. These days it sits in your neck for a week. You fall differently too. You used to bounce. Now there’s a moment, a horrible, suspended moment, where you think: this is going to hurt. You are not quite as weatherproof as you thought you were.
You’ve started choosing your chair at restaurants based on whether it has a back on it, less so who you’re sitting next to. The stairs haven’t multiplied, but somehow they feel like they have and you’re on much better terms with the handrail than you used to be. Somewhere along the way you developed strong opinions about mattresses and pillows and the angle of the sofa and exactly which side of the bed lets you get up without waking the whole house.
None of this is a crisis. Some of it is just life, the body changes, it’s supposed to. But some of it is your body quietly flagging that it needs attention and you’ve got so good at ignoring those flags that you’ve started seeing them as wallpaper.
Is Chiropractic Evidence Based? Yes, Here’s What the Guidelines Say
Here is something that a surprising number of people don’t know: chiropractic care in the UK is not complementary medicine. It is a statutorily regulated health profession.
The title “chiropractor” is legally protected under the Chiropractors Act 1994. Every practising chiropractor in the UK must be registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) which is an independent body established by Parliament and overseen by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care. The same body that oversees the GMC and the NMC. Practising as a chiropractor without GCC registration is a criminal offence. You can verify any chiropractor’s registration on the GCC’s public register at gcc-uk.org.
On the clinical evidence: NICE Guideline NG59, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance on the assessment and management of low back pain and sciatica in adults recommends that clinicians consider manual therapy, including spinal manipulation, mobilisation and soft tissue techniques, as part of a treatment package. This isn’t a niche recommendation. It appears in the same guidance used by GPs, physiotherapists and hospital clinicians across England.
The functional movements in this audit reflect the same assessment principles used in regulated clinical practice. They are not a party trick. They are a simplified version of what a chiropractor might observe in a new patient assessment and I have adapted a few of them here in this article as an accessible self-check.
For practitioners and health writers: NICE NG59 is available in full at nice.org.uk/guidance/ng59. The GCC’s public register and registrant guidance are at gcc-uk.org. This post is written by a GCC registered, BCA member chiropractor with 40 years of clinical practice. Registration number GCC 00043, verifiable on the GCC public register.
Why a “Functional Audit” and Not Just “See a Chiropractor”
I’ve been doing this since 1987 when I graduated from the Anglo European College of Chiropractic (now HSU) in Boscombe . The men who come through my clinic door in the best shape aren’t the ones who’ve never had a problem, they’re the ones who dealt with it before it became the main focus in their life, they are the ones who paid attention early to the niggles. Not obsessively. Not dramatically. Just earlier than the point of where the niggle became a crisis. I see such a broad cross section of men from near and far, Bournemouth, Poole, Westbourne and all those sporting enthusiasts from Sandbanks and Lilliput as well.
The men who come in when things have been quietly festering for three years can be harder to help, they take longer to recover, and almost always say the same thing: “I knew something wasn’t right. I just kept assuming it would sort itself out.”
Sometimes it does. A lot of acute pain resolves on its own within a few weeks. Other times, it just becomes the new normal and you forget what the old normal felt like.
So this is a simple self-check. Six functional movements that a chiropractor actually uses to understand how a body is working. It is not a medical diagnosis and it is also not a substitute for a proper assessment with a chiropractor. It is a useful and honest conversation with yourself about where things actually are. A prompt, if you like, to pay attention to yourself for once.
Do these somewhere you have a bit of space. Barefoot is better. No warming up first, that’s actually the point. Let’s see what the body says.
The Six-Movement Dad Body Audit
1. The Single-Leg Stand
What to do: Stand near a wall (for safety, not support). Lift one foot just off the floor and hold it there. No touching the wall. Time yourself.
What you’re looking for: Can you hold steady for 30 seconds without significant wobble? Swap legs and see if this one is noticeably worse than the other.
What it tells us: Standing on one leg as a single leg balance is one of the most underrated markers of overall musculoskeletal health. It loads the hip abductors, challenges the ankle and demands coordination from your core and lower back, all at once. The ability to stand on one leg declines measurably with age and is routinely used in clinic to assess neuromuscular coordination and sensorimotor function. The side-to-side difference matters as much as the total time, are the legs performing the same? A meaningful asymmetry often points to something going on in the weaker hip, pelvis or lower back, even without noticeable pain.
The real-life version of this failing: You’re putting your socks on standing up and you have to sit down to do it. You wobble when you turn around quickly in a tight space. You’re not confident on uneven ground anymore be it the beach, a muddy football pitch or a pavement that’s slightly sloped.
2. The Hip Hinge
What to do: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Keeping your back flat and not rounded. Then push your hips backwards as if you’re trying to close a car door with your backside. Let your chest drop forward as your hips go back. Don’t squat down; hinge at the hip. Go as far as you can with a flat back, then return.
What you’re looking for: Can you feel a stretch in your hamstrings? Does your back round immediately instead? Does it hurt anywhere?
What it tells us: The hip hinge is arguably the most important functional movement pattern a man over 35 can have. It’s how you should be picking things up off the floor, loading weight in the gym and shifting anything heavier than a bag of shopping. When this pattern breaks down, usually because the hamstrings are simply tight, the hip flexors are overworked or the lower back has learned to compensate, the lumbar spine takes on load it was never designed to handle. This is the movement that explains most of the “I just bent down and something went ping” stories heard in clinic every week.
The real-life version of this failing: You’ve quietly stopped picking things up with a proper bend. Instead you sort of crouch-and-grab or bend your knees at a strange angle or do a quick sweep without really hinging at all. You don’t notice you’re doing it. Your back does.
3. The Overhead Reach
What to do: Stand with your back flat against a wall with your heels, backside, upper back and the back of your head all touching. Raise both arms straight above your head. Try to touch the backs of your hands to the wall without your lower back arching away from it.
What you’re looking for: Do your hands reach the wall? Does your lower back peel away as you raise your arms? Any discomfort in the shoulders, neck or upper back?
What it tells us: The overhead pattern requires bilateral symmetrical mobility and stability of the shoulders, scapular region, and thoracic spine all whilst the pelvis and core must maintain control throughout. In plain English: your shoulders, upper back, and core all have to work together to get your arms properly overhead. When they can’t, usually because the thoracic spine has stiffened or the chest muscles have tightened from years at a desk then your lower back arches to compensate and “borrows” range of motion from somewhere it shouldn’t. This pattern is consistently present in men who’ve had a desk-based job for more than a decade.
The real-life version of this failing: Reaching up to a high shelf requires a bit of a lean or a grunt. Putting something in an overhead locker on a plane is a major event. Your shoulders don’t go as far back as they used to when someone asks you to stand up straight.
4. The Squat
What to do: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes turned out slightly. Arms out in front for balance. Squat down as far as you comfortably can, keeping your heels on the floor and your chest up. Come back up without leaning heavily on anything.
What you’re looking for: Do your heels stay down? How far can you go? Are your thighs parallel to the floor, or much less? Does your lower back round at the bottom? Any knee, hip or ankle discomfort?
What it tells us: The deep squat is a window into ankle mobility, hip mobility and spinal control all at once. A lot of men in their thirties and forties can’t get to parallel without their heels lifting or their lower back rounding, this is not because of weakness, but because of accumulated stiffness in the ankles, hips and thoracic spine which limits available range. This pattern is fundamental to many daily and athletic activities and restriction here tends to show up as knee pain during sport, hip discomfort on stairs and lower back pain after prolonged standing.
The real-life version of this failing: Getting down to floor level with young kids is a faff. You’ve quietly stopped sitting cross-legged. Standing up from a low sofa involves a moment. Gardening, weeding, planting, anything that requires sustained low-level work absolutely ruins you the next day.
5. The Neck Rotation
What to do: Sit in a chair, feet flat, shoulders relaxed. Without moving your shoulders, turn your head slowly to the right as far as it comfortably goes. Then to the left. Note how far you can go and whether the movement feels smooth or sticky.
What you’re looking for: Can you get to roughly 70–80 degrees each way to a point where your chin is approximately above your shoulder? Is one side noticeably tighter or more uncomfortable? Any clicking, grinding or pain?
What it tells us: Neck rotation is a clear, simple marker of cervical spine health. Restriction is almost always present in men who spend significant time at a desk, drive long distances, carry a heavy bag on one shoulder or sleep in a poor position. It’s also one of the most commonly ignored symptoms because the restriction here develops so gradually that people don’t realise how much they’ve lost until they try to reverse-park and find they physically cannot turn far enough. Asymmetry matters here. A pattern where the neck turns well to one side but poorly to the other is often linked to postural habits, an old injury or early cervical joint changes that respond well to treatment when caught early.
The real-life version of this failing: Reversing the car is a whole-body manoeuvre now. You turn your shoulders to compensate for what your neck can’t do. You’ve started being more cautious about movements you used to do without thinking.
6. The Forward Fold
What to do: Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees soft. Slowly bend and reach towards your toes, letting your spine curl forward naturally. Don’t force it or bounce. Go as far as you can and pause.
What you’re looking for: Can you get your fingertips past your knees? To your shins or to the floor? Note where the restriction is, is it the back of your legs (hamstrings), or your lower back?
What it tells us: The forward fold separates hamstring tightness from lumbar mobility restriction, which matters clinically because they require different approaches. Tight hamstrings are a mobility issue, often driven by prolonged sitting and insufficient stretching and they load the lower back by pulling on the pelvis. Restricted lumbar flexion coming from the spine itself, stiff segments, protective muscle guarding is a different problem entirely and one that tends to need clinical attention sooner. Either way, the inability to reach comfortably towards the floor in your thirties and forties is not simply “getting older.” It is a sign that the posterior chain, the connected system of muscles, fascia and joints running from your feet to your neck needs work.
The real-life version of this failing: Tying shoelaces has become mildly annoying. Picking something up off the floor without bending your knees feels vaguely risky. After a long drive, straightening up fully takes a moment.
A Note on the Assessment Tools Behind This Men’s Health Week Audit
The movements above in this Men’s Health Week guide are not invented for this article. They draw on established clinical assessment tools used across musculoskeletal healthcare:
The Single Leg Stance Test (SLST) is a validated clinical measure of neuromuscular coordination and balance. Published thresholds suggest that the ability to hold for fewer than 30 seconds on a single leg is associated with functional limitation and elevated injury risk, with timed single-leg stance declining measurably with age and with conditions affecting sensorimotor function.
The Functional Movement Screen (FMS), published in the North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, uses seven fundamental movement patterns including the overhead squat, single-leg stance, and hip hinge to identify functional limitations and asymmetries. The overhead wall test and hip hinge described above map directly to FMS movement patterns.
The forward fold and hip hinge have direct clinical relevance to lumbar spine loading. The inability to maintain a neutral lumbar spine during hip flexion is a well documented risk factor for lower back injury, particularly in men whose occupations or sport involve repetitive lifting or prolonged flexion.
The neck rotation assessment is a standard component of cervical spine examination. Normal cervical rotation is approximately 70–90 degrees in each direction; restriction and asymmetry are clinically significant and commonly associated with cervicogenic headache, referred upper limb pain, and early degenerative changes.
These are the kinds of assessments that happen in a first appointment. This article gives you a simplified version to do at home. A clinical assessment gives you the full picture.
What Your Results Actually Mean
Be honest with yourself. This isn’t a pass/fail exam – it’s information.
You sailed through all six with no asymmetry, no discomfort, and full range: Excellent. Your body is communicating clearly and moving well. Keep doing whatever you’re doing, and consider a check-up every year or so in the same way you’d service a car that’s running well. Prevention is significantly cheaper and less painful than recovery.
You noticed one or two restrictions but no real pain: This is the sweet spot for intervention. Small losses of range and early asymmetries are highly responsive to treatment and often require relatively little input to correct. The worst thing you can do here is wait until it becomes painful.
Several of these were harder than expected and you recognise yourself in the “real-life” descriptions: This is information your body has been trying to give you for a while. It doesn’t mean anything is seriously wrong , it just means something has shifted and deserves attention. A proper assessment will tell you considerably more in 45 minutes than this article can.
One or more of these caused actual pain: Don’t push through it. Stop. That’s a conversation with a practitioner, not something to ignore.
The Worst Thing About Ignoring It Is That It Works. For a While.
I’ve been a chiropractor for almost forty years. I’ve seen thousands of men, active, fit, stoic, sensible men, who arrived in my clinic considerably worse off than they needed to be, purely because they’d convinced themselves that monitoring deterioration was the same thing as managing it. Presuming that pain is associated with the passage of time is not true. Pain is not just a side effect of getting older.
Toughing it out is a legitimate strategy for acute pain in the short term. For the gradual, accumulative changes that come from busy lives, physical work, desk jobs, sport, fatherhood and ageing, it’s not a strategy. It’s a delay.
The body gives very clear signals. The wobble on one leg, the back that rounds before the hips even hinge, the neck that can’t quite make it over the shoulder, these are early ones. The kind that respond well to treatment and don’t drag your recovery out over months.
Men’s Health Week is 15th–21st June this year, ending on Father’s Day. It’s a useful reminder. But honestly, the best time to pay attention to your body was last year. The second best time is now.
If something in this audit gave you pause for thought, a proper assessment at Bournemouth Chiropractic will tell you considerably more and a free 15-minute consultation is available if you’d like to ask questions before committing to an appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
I did these movements and I was worse than I expected. Should I be worried?
Don’t be alarmed, but take it seriously. Restriction without pain is almost always highly treatable. The audit is designed to show you what’s there, not to diagnose anything. A proper clinical assessment will give you a much clearer picture.
I’m pretty active, I run, I cycle, I train regularly. Surely I’m fine?
Being active is really protective and it absolutely matters. But fitness and functional movement quality are not the same thing. Some of the most restricted patients in clinic are regular runners and gym-goers who’ve trained hard in certain planes of movement while neglecting others. Activity doesn’t prevent asymmetry, it can occasionally reinforce it.
My back has been “bad” for years. Is any of this relevant to me?
Very much so. Chronic back pain often involves exactly the functional patterns tested here, restricted hip hinge, poor single-leg stability, limited spinal mobility and addressing those patterns is usually central to recovery. Long-standing problems often respond better than people expect when the underlying movement issues are properly addressed. See also our full guide to low back pain treatment.
How often should I do this kind of check?
Roughly every few months is useful for self-monitoring. More importantly, if you notice a change, trust that. Your body’s not imagining it and it needs listening to.
Are these movements safe to try at home?
Yes, with one caveat: if something causes actual pain rather than mild restriction or discomfort, stop and seek advice rather than pushing through. Stand near a wall for the balance test in case you need to catch yourself.
Do I need a GP referral to see a chiropractor?
No. Chiropractors are primary contact practitioners, the same status as your GP or dentist, so you can book directly without a referral. If we find something during your assessment that needs to go back to your GP, we’ll tell you. That rarely happens, but when it does, we handle it properly.
What would a chiropractic assessment tell me that this audit doesn’t?
Quite a lot. A clinical assessment involves orthopaedic and neurological testing, palpation of the spine and joints, a detailed case history and a trained eye for subtle compensations that are very hard to see in yourself. This audit is the beginning of the conversation. An assessment is where you find out what’s actually going on, which in my experience is almost always more fixable than people expect.
For Employers, HR Teams, and Occupational Health Providers
If you’ve arrived here through Men’s Health Week 2026 and you work in HR, occupational health, or employee wellbeing then this section is specifically for you.
The publication of the Men’s Health Strategy for England in November 2025 formally acknowledged what occupational health professionals have long understood: workplaces are one of the most important points of contact for men’s health. Men in full-time employment are significantly less likely than women to access primary care, yet they are at work, visible and reachable.
Musculoskeletal conditions are the most common cause of workplace absence in the UK. Back pain, neck pain and joint problems account for more lost working days than any other physical health condition. But desk-based roles are not exempt, prolonged sitting, sustained static posture and the accumulation of screen hours over a career produce their own distinct pattern of MSK deterioration.
The six-movement audit in this article is designed to be accessible, non-clinical and useful as a self-check. It is suitable for sharing via internal workplace communications during Men’s Health Week, for use in occupational health consultations, or for inclusion in men’s health awareness packs alongside GP and mental health signposting.
If you’d like to discuss workplace MSK awareness or Men’s Health Week resources for your organisation, get in touch. We’d be glad to help.
This content is free to share with attribution to Bournemouth Chiropractic (bournemouth-chiropractic.co.uk) and the author, Leslie Budzynski DC. If you would like a print-ready version of the self-audit for use in a workplace or waiting room setting, please get in touch directly.
References and Further Reading for Men’s Health Week
A lot of our blog posts are relevant and interesting read and discuss, amongst other things, disc problems sacroiliac joint pain, low back pain and sciatica.
The blog, in general is full of interesting articles that you may want to browse and we also have a full drop down menu on our header covering several common condtions which may be familiar to you.
I see a wide demographic of patients who travel from across the BCP area, from local areas including Ashely Cross, Whitecliff, Branksome Park, Parkstone and Penn Hill and Branksome. Get in touch.
Clinical guidelines
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management. NICE Guideline NG59. Published November 2016, updated December 2020. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng59
Chiropractic regulation
General Chiropractic Council. About the GCC: what we do. gcc-uk.org
British Chiropractic Association. History and regulation of chiropractic. chiropractic-uk.co.uk
Chiropractors Act 1994. UK Parliament.
Men’s health statistics
Men’s Health Forum. Key data: men’s health. menshealthforum.org.uk
Mates in Mind. Men’s Health Week UK 2026 resources. matesinmind.org
Office for National Statistics. Suicides in England and Wales: 2023 registrations. ons.gov.uk
Department of Health and Social Care. Men’s Health Strategy for England. Published November 2025. gov.uk
Functional movement assessment
Cook G, Burton L, Hoogenboom B, Voight M. Functional movement screening: the use of fundamental movements as an assessment of function — Part 2. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2014;9(4):549–563.
Bogduk N, Govind J. Cervicogenic headache: an assessment of the evidence on clinical diagnosis, invasive tests, and treatment. Lancet Neurology. 2009;8(10):959–968.
McGill S. Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. 3rd ed. Human Kinetics, 2015.
Workplace and occupational health
Health and Safety Executive. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders statistics. hse.gov.uk
Inclusive Employers. Men’s Health Week in the workplace. inclusiveemployers.co.uk
Medical Disclaimer
This post is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Individual circumstances vary and the information provided here may not apply to your specific situation. If you have experienced a recent trauma, suspect a fracture, or are experiencing sudden weakness, numbness, or difficulty walking, please seek urgent medical attention. If you have a diagnosed condition such as osteoporosis or a neurological condition, please inform your practitioner before beginning any new exercise programme. Leslie Budzynski is a registered member of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC no: 00043). You can verify Leslie’s registration at any time on the GCC’s online register.
