Kenneth GardnerFLEXIBILITY IS the ability of a joint to move through its full range of motion. Flexibility makes everyday activities as well as physical exercise easier and more manageable. As you exercise your flexibility will increase in response to the activities that stress it. If you become inactive your flexibility decreases.
Flexibility is specific, its presence in one joint is not carried over to another joint. There are two kinds of flexibility, static and dynamic flexibility. Static flexibility is the ability to assume and maintain an extended position at one point in a joint's range of motion. This is what most persons mean by the idea of flexibility. Dynamic flexibility is the ability to move a joint through its range of motion with little or no resistance. Static flexibility will determine how far you can stretch, while dynamic flexibility will determine your ability to swing your arms, kick a ball, run, jump or do your aerobic exercises.
JOINT STRUCTURE
Static flexibility depends on the structure of your joints, the tightness of your muscles, tendons and ligaments that are associated with the joint being considered. Dynamic flexibility depends on static flexibility as well as your strength, how coordinate you are and the resistance you experience when you move. Dynamic flexibility is very important for your activities of daily living as well as your exercise programme and how much benefit you get from your work out routine. Your muscular and skeletal systems benefit by improving your flexibility. It is very helpful in preventing injuries and soreness as you exercise, it also improves your performance when you exercise.
Good flexibility is necessary for the health of your joints. If the muscles and the other supporting tissues of the joints are tight the joint will be subjected to abnormal stress which can cause their deterioration. Much of this is experienced in the knee where tight muscles cause much of the pain that many of us experience. Poor joint flexibility can cause abnormalities in joint lubrication; this can deteriorate the cartilage lining the joint, thus causing further joint injury.
By improving your joint flexibility you will improve your mobility which is very necessary as you age. Ageing decreases the elasticity of your muscles, tendons and joints which causes stiffness. The problem becomes more complex if you develop arthritis.
Flexibility exercises improve the elastic nature of your tissues which make your movements easier. Flexibility exercises help to relieve the pain that we develop from the stress of prolonged sitting. By remaining in one position for a long period of time our muscles become tense and tight; stretching will relieve this tension and help to retain your flexibility.
EFFICIENCY OF MOVEMENTS
Good flexibility improves the efficiency of your movements and makes it possible to generate more force over a longer period of time as well as through a greater range of motion. When you do exercises that improve your flexibility it improves the development of your strength.
Good posture thrives on good flexibility. It helps you to manage and coordinate the forces, tensions and pressures that act within as well as upon your body. By improving and maintaining your flexibility, especially in the muscles that act on your spine, much of the pain and abnormal curvature that develop in your back (spine) can be avoided.
Flexibility exercises are used as an integral part of the therapeutic protocol in stress management. Flexibility exercises are excellent for the reduction of mental tension, improving your breathing and reducing high blood pressure. Flexibility exercises are useful in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of joint pains and injuries. Flexibility exercises work much better when the muscles are warm and they are stretched gradually but conservatively.
Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
