Flexibility and Mobility Goals

We all know that a certain degree of flexibility & mobility is essential if you want to improve sports performance. If you are too tight, you are not only functioning below your peak performance, you are also increasing your chances of injuries.

First, let’s understand the difference between flexibility and mobility. Put simply, flexibility is the ability of a muscle to stretch. Mobility is the ability of a joint to move through its intended range of motion. To have good mobility, muscle flexibility is imperative. After all, the muscles have to stretch to allow the joint to move. However, there is a misconception that the lack of mobility is only due to muscular flexibility limitation. Mobility of a joint involves the shape of its bones, how they meet and how the joint’s ligaments and tendons connect to those bones. Just like how if you can’t touch your toes, it may not due to poor flexibility.

When someone is not able to access the full range of motion, that is a problem.

Why is flexibility and mobility important?

1. It prevents sports injuries. A good shoulder mobility allows a Volleyball player to lift the arm to smash the ball effortlessly. This allows the joints to easily accommodate the desired joint angles without undue stress on the tissues around them. It therefore is essential for injury prevention.

2. It improves the condition of scar tissues. Scar tissues are form during the recovery of muscle tear. They tend to have lower functional quality, reduced flexibility and sensory feedback. Scar tissue needs to be broken down in order for it to realign more functionally and enable flexibility in the area, thus, stretching and myofascial release is essential.

3. It improves posture and ergonomics. Tight muscles and limited joint mobility encourages poor posture, resulting in postural syndromes causing musculoskeletal pain.

4. With a good range of motion, motor performance and skill execution will be improved. “Think of a sprinter who needs flexibility in the hip flexors to allow good hip extension at toe off, and good hip extensor flexibility to allow necessary knee drive in the leg recovery phase of sprinting. Skill execution and reduced risk of injury will be greatly enhanced if the body has the flexibility necessary for that particular sport”, as written by Andrew Hamilton, a sport science writer.

If your stretching routine has not reached your desired result,  I’ll help you to create a personalized plan that will meet your unique mobility needs.