Welcome to Part 2 - Mobility!

Newton’s 1st Law of Motion states: “An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion…” Maybe you’ve even experienced this yourself. You have been sitting for a long period of time, your body doesn’t want to move, you have to force it to start when you want to get up again, and your muscles and joints likely feel slow, stiff, and/or sore when you do get up. However, once you get up and get moving around a little bit, (hopefully) you feel better!

How Does Stretching Increase Mobility?

A joint is where two or more bones meet, and your joints are coated with synovial fluid. The job of this viscous solution is to reduce friction between the joints during movement (Tamer, 2013). So the more you stretch, the better you will be able to move. I had a professor that always loved to say “motion is lotion” - meaning the more active you are, the more lubricated your joints will be to help you remain active and stay healthy (Prowers Medical Center, 2021). Like we’ve talked about, mobility is similar to flexibility, but it involves the joints and the surrounding tissues including the ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Any or all of these could hinder mobility of the joints, impair proper movement, and/or inhibit full range of motion.

A joint, whether it’s the neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, or ankle just to name a few, needs to go through the full range of motion in order to maintain flexibility (Thompson, 2008). As you start to incorporate a stretching routine, you’ll begin to see an increased range of motion due to the enhanced circulation of the synovial fluid coating the surfaces of the joints as well as loosening up the surrounding tissues (ligaments, tendons, and muscles) you are stretching!

Keep following along for the conclusion about how stretching enhances recovery, the benefits of regular stretching, and simple stretches you can add to your own routine!

References
Prowers Medical Center. (2021). Motion is Lotion: Exercising to Keep Your Joints Healthy. Retrieved from: https://prowersmedical.com/motion-is-lotion-exercising-to-keep-your-joints-healthy/ 

Tamer T. M. (2013). Hyaluronan and synovial joint: function, distribution and healing. Interdisciplinary toxicology, 6(3), 111–125. https://doi.org/10.2478/intox-2013-0019 

Thompson, D. (2008). FACSM Fitness Focus Copy-and-Share, ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 12(5). doi: 10.1249/FIT.0b013e318184516b