What is flexibility?

Abstract

This article examines what physical flexibility is and how it might best be described and understood. Flexibility can be thought of as a motor ability of the human body, one that allows a joint, or a collection of joints working together, to move freely though a range of motion without yielding to discomfort or risking harm. This quality does not arise from one source alone. It is born of the intricate mechanics of our tissues that bend and glide, and also from the guiding hand of the nervous system, which governs how much stretch the body will permit.

Medical disclaimer