Flexibility or Mobility: Whats the Difference?
A common misconception amongst many is that flexibility is mobility. In fact, flexibility is not mobility, and mobility is far more important than flexibility.
What is Flexibility?
Flexibility is the ability of a muscle or muscle groups to lengthen passively through a range of motion.
What is Mobility?
Mobility is the ability of a joint to move actively through a range of motion.
Flexibility and mobility are different constructs separated by a very important detail about nervous system and muscular recruitment. For example, flexibility would be your body’s ability to be stretched to a given length (touch your toes). However, flexibility does not involve any strength or active muscular component within that range of motion. Therefore, flexibility is a range of motion without strength. As we know from studying sport science and the nature of injuries, the vast majority of injuries occur when a tissue is at its end range and is no longer strong enough to withhold the force being imposed on it.
On the flip side, mobility incorporates both the body’s ability to get its tissue to a certain length but also have strength within that range of motion. Using our previous example of touching your toes, mobility would be the body’s ability to lengthen your hamstrings to touch the floor but also have the necessary strength built at that range of motion to then counter the forces of picking up a box, or other object off the floor.
In a sport specific example of the difference between flexibility and mobility, we can envision a hockey goaltender who is flexible enough to do the splits. In this scenario, without the proper mobility (strength within the range of motion) a goaltender will continually injure their groin musculature until specific strength is established in the tissues that must take on the load of the goaltenders body as he/she drops into the splits. Mobility is not something gained through sitting quietly with your legs out straight as you reach for your toes. Mobility is gained through specific, intentful movement of your joints and tissues at their end-range in an effort to establish necessary strength.
Active mobility allows Kari Lehtonen (above) to get into the splits position and then get out of it without injury.
Mobility will always trump flexibility in terms of injury prevention, sport performance, and longevity.
This is one of the main reasons we utilize Functional Range Conditioning with all our patients. Establishing strength through end ranges is a major key to staying healthy and limber in all your endeavours.