What is the difference between flexibility and mobility?
Mobility is the active performance of a certain range of motion in the joint.
Flexibility is the ability of a muscle to passively extend through a certain range of motion.
Good mobility allows for easy deformation of the tissue, and therefore more efficient movement, which reduces the possibility of potential injury. The movement of the bone lever in a particular joint through the full range of motion affects all structures located around the joint (muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia, blood vessels, nerves, articular surfaces, joint capsules).
From the above, we can conclude that “mobility (mobility)” is a broader term than “flexibility (flexibility)”.
Mobility (mobility)
One of the basic characteristics of mobility is that the range of motion is different for each joint, which leads us to conclude that we cannot speak of “general” mobility but of “local”. For example, a person may have average mobility in one, above-average mobility in another, and less than average mobility in a third.
The degree of mobility depends on internal and external factors.
The internal factors are:
- The anatomical structure of the bone and ligamentous elements of the joint. Bone elements (size and shape of joint surfaces) are a function of genetics and as such are unchangeable under the influence of training. While the ligamentous elements (passive tensor of the joint), as well as the muscles (active tensor of the joint) can be influenced by training
- The length of the antagonist muscles (the muscles that oppose the agonists – those that “hinder” the movement).
- A muscular spindle with a mechanism of the miostatic reflex. The myostatic reflex (stretching reflex) is a reflex that protects the muscle from overstretching. When stretching the muscles, the muscle spindle registers the change in muscle length and uses neurons to transmit a signal to the central nervous system (CNS), due to which muscle fibers contract (myostatic reflex). The myostatic reflex consists of two components: dynamic and static. Dynamic is a response to a sudden change in muscle length and it lasts for a short time, while static helps maintain muscle tone that lasts throughout the stretch.
- The Golgi tendon organ (GTO) is a type of receptor that is activated by either passive stretching or active muscle contraction. GTO records the rate of change in tendon tension by sending a signal through neurons to the CNS.
- Skin elasticity. Tight skin reduces mobility.
- Muscle mass. An increase in muscle mass directly affects the decrease in the amplitude of movements in the joint.
The external factors are:
1 . Grow. Mobility is higher in children. The best period for the development of mobility is from 9 to 14 years. With age, the range of motion in the joint gradually decreases. Regular exercise can increase mobility at any age, but in the elderly the process is longer compared to the younger population.
2 . Sex. Females have greater mobility compared to men.
3. Outside temperature. A higher outside temperature and pre-heating allows for better mobility.
4 . Time of day. Under the influence of biological changes in the body (hormones, CNS), the greatest amplitude of movement is achieved in the morning between 10-11 am and in the afternoon between 4-5 pm, and the lowest early in the morning.
5 . Stress and emotional state. A positive emotional state and moderate stress have a positive effect on increasing mobility, while depression and excessive stress reduce mobility.
6 . Murder. Regardless of whether it is a general state of exhaustion or accumulated fatigue at the end of training, fatigue adversely affects mobility.
7. Resistance of clothing.
Types of mobility:
There are active and passive mobility. Active mobility is the ability to achieve the greatest possible amplitude of movement by the activity of the muscles that perform the movement in that joint.
Active mobility is divided into static and dynamic. Static (isometric) mobility involves slow movements, which achieve the maximum amplitude of movement in a certain joint, and then maintain this position for several tens of seconds. Dynamic (kinetic) mobility is the use of rapid movements with momentum. The amplitude of these movements is greater due to the moment of inertia. Passive (always static) mobility is the ability to achieve the greatest possible amplitude of movement with the help of external forces, and the external force can be: the weight of one’s own body, the force of one’s own muscles, the help of a partner, a wall, a weight, etc.
