Tips & Techniques

Love Your Joints—Joint Mobility for Flexibility

Denise Smith 
 • 
July 6, 2016

Have you ever spent a focused amount of time trying to “stretch” your muscles but you still feel tight? The reason for that is you forgot the most important
aspect of improving muscle elasticity – joint flexibility. You need to learn to love your joints.

Flexibility is probably the number one aspect of a training program that most athletes—and people in general—do not consider. Even when flexibility
training is considered, we have found that the concept is also misunderstood. Flexibility is not just your ability to touch your
toes and does not require an hour of static, sit-and-reach style stretching. Rather, flexibility is focused around how well your joint moves
(joint mobility). Most muscles either start or end near a joint; if that joint does not move properly through its full range of motion, the surrounding
muscles will not function properly either.

A flexibility training program does not have to be time consuming or stressful. Simply add 5-10 minutes of mobilization exercises to the end of your routine.
Dynamic stretches (like these)
before your workout seem to be the most effective.

To get you started with joint mobilization exercises, check out Smith Physical Therapy + Running Academy’s Love Your Joints playlist on YouTube. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.

Our goal is to help you develop a flexibility training program that you can implement into your workout plan 2-3 times per week. The better your joints
move, the more prepared your muscles will be for their workout. Joint mobility and the subsequent muscular flexibility will decrease your injuries
over time and improve your performance. Stretching alone does not decrease the risk of injuries (read Can-Fit-Pro’s explanation),
but a focus on improving your joint mobility, along with improving technique and strength, will lead to a change in how you feel when you move and
your ability to move for prolonged periods.

Check back for a blog including proper warm up and additional some sample dynamic stretches—coming soon!

Meet the Author
Denise Smith graduated from Marquette University in 2002 with a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy and has been a certified running technique specialist since 2014. She is a consultant for multiple local middle and high schools and instructs courses in Kinesiology at McHenry County College. Denise also travels the country as part of the Pose Method education team with a lecture series on injury prevention and treatment along with the running technique certification course.
You were made to move!
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