Flexibility
Ever catch yourself thinking any of these things?
· “I have to stretch until it hurts if I ever want to get more flexible.”
· “Stretching before/after working out helps my body stay flexible.”
· “If I don’t stretch, my muscles will shorten and tighten.”
· “I have to stretch so that I don’t have pain when I move.”
If you want to be loose, mobile, and free to move the way you please without feeling limited and tight, we need to talk about where flexibility comes from, and ways to help without causing more problems.
What really happens
Flexibility comes from joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and other tissues sending messages to the brain that in unison say “strength and stability, clear, all systems go.” If your brain does not think you are strong or stable enough to control a joint space, it won't let you. Therefore, making you feel inflexible.
The common practice to try to increase flexibility is to stress tissues enough to where they “let go” i.e. stretch. This is a misconception; at a cellular level, the actin and myosin in our sarcomeres (what make up our muscles) only change position when they are told to do so by the brain via peripheral nerves. Stretching does not increase flexibility by lengthening your muscles. It is simply a stimulus to the receptors that live in the tissue. That stimulus gets sent to the brain like a letter in the mail (only faster, faster than you can blink.) The brain then determines based on both the information it receives and past experiences, if it is safe to go there.
If you’ve ever increased your flexibility after stretching, it is because you (on an unconscious level) learned/experienced enough to perceive that it is not dangerous. This is part of motor learning. If on the other hand you have stretched forever and have seen no change, it is because there was no change in the information coming in, and therefore was still perceived as unsafe for you to go there.
The Brain Stem
To truly gain flexibility and improve how well you move through a joint range, your brain must determine that it is safe to do so. Remember in last months blog post how we talked about the brain stem? Flexibility is largely controlled by the same area! The midbrain, pons, and medulla work together to control flexor and extensor tone, along with many other autonomic functions like tongue control, bite pressure, how your eyes move, and so on. (Sorry, Colonel Sanders, you’re wrong.)
The brain cycles through receiving information via our sensory systems, interpreting that information and then creating a motor output based on that information. If we want to change the motor output (gain flexibility), we need to create change in either the sensory going in, or the interpretation of the information we receive. This can be done in many many ways, which is exciting because that means that there are infinite possible ways to create change!
Every sensory system can be stimulated/trained to increase specific neural activity. That’s right, your vision is extremely malleable, and vital to your flexibility or the lack thereof. Same goes for your sense of smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Without good quality and accurate information your brain will have to spend more energy trying to keep you safe! Pay attention to the quality of your sensory information. If you notice you have significant deficits and you feel tight, know that this may be playing a very large role, and things can change!
improve your sensory to create change!
If you found this helpful and want drills and other tips on how to improve your flexibility, subscribe to our newsletter (where we share a tip to improve your toe touch without stretching) and follow us on social media!
Need help easing back into the gym? Click the button below for a free guide!