I have recently been reminded of the importance of flexibility. I managed to trap a nerve in my neck, resulting in numbness in my fingers, a hell of a lot of pain and loss of power in my arm. After speaking to an Osteopath, the reason it became trapped seems to be due to reduced flexibility in the middle part (thoracic) of my spine - most likely due to years of sitting at a desk!
When we consider flexibility I think most people imagine dancers and gymnasts but it's more than just being able to do the splits.
Flexibility is technically defined as the range of movement about a joint. If we don't work on flexibility we can end up with altered movement patterns which leave us open to injury. For example being tight in your inner thighs will pull your knees in, potentially resulting in knee injury.
So, in short, flexibility is REALLY important! But don't stress, we can fix it together and it doesn't even have to take that long, providing you're disciplined in your approach!
In an ideal world you would stretch and work on flexibility every day (it's quite a nice thing to do before bed as a bit of a wind down). If you are able to make time then you will start to see changes pretty swiftly. Just to offer a little bit of expectation management: flexibility takes time, dedication and practice to develop but you will still see small improvements and you will certainly feel them quickly.
I want to start with foam rolling because it is really key and I bet you see stuff about this all the time but never quite get what the point is.
You are basically giving yourself a deep tissue massage. Using the roller run it slowly along the length of the muscle (if you go too quickly you won't get the benefit), when you find a knot pause on it until it releases (typically about 30 seconds) before moving further along the muscle.
After a foam roll stretch the same muscle, you will find you get more out of the stretch after rolling it first.
This leads nicely onto stretching! How long you hold a stretch for matters. In order to develop flexibility aim to hold it for 30 seconds, come out of the stretch for a moment then hold it again. As with everything, make sure that when you're in the position you're holding that you keep good posture and alignment - don't want to do any damage!!
One of my favourite ways of developing flexibility is PNF stretching or Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, trying that after a few cheeky wines! If you've ever streamed or been to a BodyBalance class then you might be familiar with this already. I remember doing it in the dance studio at college and uni but I had no idea what it actually was! It is a fantastic way of developing flexibility quickly.
I will spare you the science behind it - unless you want to know, then I will gladly fill you in - but here's how you do it:
Gently take the muscle you want to stretch to the point that it bites, hold it here until the stretch goes off, think about relaxing the muscle
Come partially out of the stretch, then depending on where you're stretching, use your hands/ arms or floor to resist against for about 10 seconds, then take back to the biting point
Hold here again until it goes off
I thought it would easiest to demonstrate PNF in a little video... :)
That in a nutshell is flexibility!
Lastly, make sure you don't just focus on the legs - especially if you sit at a desk all day - think about your chest and back too.
As always guys, thank you for reading, I really do appreciate it and I hope it's actually interesting and useful!!
Please do let me know if you have any questions or want any tips, or if you want me to write about anything!
C xx
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