Flexibility is a key component of building muscle strength, improving balance and increasing range of motion in the joints. The more flexible you are, the quicker your body can change position and the better able you are to avoid injury.
What does it mean to be flexible and how would someone know if they have good flexibility or not?
Dr. Scott Gardner: Flexibility is the ability to bend easily or the amount of stretch a muscle has. A simple test to determine flexibility is to just stand and try bending over and touch your toes. If you can easily touch your toes, then your flexibility is usually pretty good. If you can’t, then it’s definitely time to start a stretching program.
Is good posture a result of good flexibility, and why is good posture important to our overall health?
Dr. Scott Gardner: Not necessarily. Flexibility is more a component of fitness along with strength and balance. Good posture is a vital part of our overall health. We have a saying, “Posture is a window to the spine and our spine is the window to health,” so really what we look like on the outside tells us a lot about what’s going on inside the individual.
Balance and stability are very important both for athletes and for the older population. How does flexibility help improve our balance and stability?
Dr. Scott Gardner: The more stretch the muscles have, the greater range of motion of the joints. The more flexible a person is, the quicker the body can react to sudden changes in position.
Can flexibility allow us to build greater strength in our muscles?
Dr. Scott Gardner: Yes. The more flexible a person is there’s less chance of straining or pulling a muscle when increasing strength.
What are some exercises people can do to improve their flexibility?
Dr. Scott Gardner: I think the best thing to do is to offer the listeners the opportunity to contact the office. We’d be more than happy to send them a really good functional warmup video that we do. They just have to contact us and we’ll be glad to share that with them.
Learn More
If you are interested in speaking with Dr. Scott Gardner visit www.gardnerfamilychiro.com or call 973-614-9256 to schedule an appointment.
Click here to receive more information & to schedule your consultation.
