Flexibility and Mobility

Flexibility and mobility are often thought of in the extreme (like gymnasts doing splits) which can seem intimidating! But essentially flexibility is just the range of movement within a certain joint and mobility is the ability to move through a complete range of movement unrestricted.

Having this full range of movement is beneficial for everyone; not just for ease of movement during daily living, but also because it greatly helps avoid injuries and unnecessary pain.

The bone-on-bone joints in everyone’s skeleton have a built-in range of movement (ROM) and often the soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons) within these joints minimize this natural ROM (due to tightness or stiffness, for example). But, fortunately, this means it is something we can work on. This is not to say everyone has the potential to be a contortionist (there are other factors like the makeup of your connective tissues, how deep certain bones are inserted into a socket, and more) but everyone has the ability to work towards finding their own optimal ROM.

This is especially important because as we get older the water content in our connective tissues (ligaments and tendons) decreases naturally, resulting in reduced elasticity and flexibility. Actively counteracting this effect through stretching and mobilizing is vital and that’s why it’s such an important focus in pilates.

Have any questions about flexibility and mobility or your own ROM? Feel free to ask us via our contact form and we’ll be happy to answer!