Flex Your Knowledge

Flexibility: Anatomical Range of Movement of a Joint or Series of Joints

• Flexibility is the range of movement in a joint or series of joints and muscle length that induces motion.
• Flexibility varies between individuals and can be increased to some extent by exercise, with stretching being a common exercise component.
• Limberness is the condition of having superior flexibility, which is also called being flexible.
• Joints in the human body are surrounded by synovial membranes and articular cartilage, which cover, cushion, and nourish them.
• Ligaments are composed of two different tissues: white and yellow. The white fibrous tissues are not stretchy, while the yellow elastic tissue can be stretched considerably and return to its original length.
• Tendons are not elastic and are categorized as a connective tissue. The areolar tissue is permeable and is extensively distributed throughout the body.
• Muscle tissue is made of stretchy material and is arranged in bundles of parallel fibres.
• Stretch receptors have two parts: spindle cells and Golgi tendons.
• Flexibility is improved by stretching, and force applied to the body must be held just beyond a feeling of pain and needs to be held for at least ten seconds.
• Dynamic flexibility is classified as the ability to complete a full range of motion of a joint.
• Ballistic stretching prevents lengthening of tissues and should only be performed when the body is very warm; otherwise, it can lead to injury.
• Each individual is born with a particular range of motion for each joint in their body.