Do you feel stiff? Are you constantly compared to the tin man? Maybe your joints need some oiling.
Original source: here.
You see, there are a lot of misconceptions out there about flexibility and mobility (and those two terms are used interchangeably, which is not correct). Lucky for you that since I like you, I’ll clear up those misconceptions for you. Then, you can show off your new-found knowledge to your friends, and they’ll really respect you. You’re welcome.
Let’s start at the beginning. If you’re constantly stretching, clearly something isn’t working. If you feel the need to stretch constantly because you’re “tight”, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing yourself good.
47% of your range of motion comes from the joint itself. Not the muscle. Not the tendon. Not the ligament and not the skin. The joint itself. So if the joint itself is immobile, you can stretch all you like, and it’ll work for 1-2 hours, but it’s not a long-term solution. You need to mobilize your joints.
41% of your range of motion comes from the muscle and fascia itself. What’s fascia? Fascia is the connective tissue surrounding muscles. If you’re a visual type, you can take a look at it here. Muscle is elastic. So stretching it will not actually lengthen it (permanently, anyway). That’s why you feel the need to stretch constantly. Because you’re not going after the root cause of your lack of mobility.
Fascia, on the other hand can tighten, and “shrink wrap” your muscles and joints. You know how after pulling some clothes out of the washing machine, they feel smaller? The same thing can happen with your fascia, but on the inside of your body. And unfortunately stretching is not the most effective method of improving the quality of your fascia.
Original source: here.
Your nervous system can also tightly regulate your flexibility, and that may be the cause of your limited flexibility. In my public speaking engagements, I occasionally demonstrate that most people have the potential to do the splits, yet very few people can do them. After all, there’s no muscle, tendon or ligament that runs right across the hips. So what’s preventing you from doing the splits? Your nervous system.
So first and foremost, it’s important to identify where your restriction is: is it a tight joint capsule? If so, you need to mobilize it. It’s hard to describe mobilizations in words, it’s more of a visual thing. If the problem is muscle and fascia, we use a combination of stretching and foam rolling (or some other form of deep tissue work). If the problem is the nervous system, we use special disinhibition techniques that allow your muscles to lengthen.
What complicates matters is that mobility and flexibility are joint-specific. So just because your hips or lower back are tight says nothing about your shoulders or ankles. That means that each joint needs to be assessed individually.
Mobility and flexibility are absolutely essential, and just as with everything, how you go about it should be highly individualized. If you need some professional help figuring out which stretches, mobilizations and other techniques are appropriate for you, contact us.
