ABSTRACT
Flexibility remains one of the pillars of physical fitness. Pre- and peri-adolescents are at an ideal age to use stretching to enhance flexibility in terms of range of motion. There are a number of physical, physiological, and motivational constraints on stretching and the resultant changes in joint motion. The practitioner should be aware of the constraints to enhanced range of motion such as joint structure, muscle and connective tissue stiffness, neural constraints from reflexes, and the occasional inherent discomfort from stretching. Flexibility is observed when athletes achieve certain body positions to demonstrate attractive poses for appearance sports, and the shock value of contortionism. Flexibility is also involved in producing greater torques and forces when the “‘windup,” countermovement, or preparatory motion is increased, thereby expanding the distance through which a force or torque is applied. Similarly, the ability to absorb a force through a greater distance via adequate joint range motion may help reduce the risk of injury. Unlike some other fitness components, flexibility is an optimisation problem as opposed to maximisation or minimisation. Athletes require slightly more than adequate flexibility in the event of movement errors, although too much or too little range of motion may be harmful.
