The Importance of Flexibility

Flexibility is extremely important and most of us ignore it. I can hear most of you groaning and lamenting, “I’m doing well just to exercise!” Stretching for flexibility doesn’t have to take up hours. It doesn’t even have to take up a scheduled ten minutes. It is something that can be done at the desk, in bed while you are waiting for the snooze alarm to ring yet again, or while you are standing by the microwave waiting for your tea (preferably green/ black tea chuck full of antioxidants). Every little bit of stretching adds up. The goal is to make it a habit so you stretch automatically when you have a couple of minutes. Rather than go into detail describing specific stretches, a picture is worth a thousand words. Call the office and I will gladly mail some stretches to you or next time you are in the library or in the book store do a quick search. Refrain from stretches where you are bent over at the waist unsupported (without a hand on a thigh, etc). This is a precarious position for the low back.

Why stretch?

Well most of you have you have heard my battle cry, “Life is motion…You must either move it or lose it!” Freely movable joints of the body (fancy name synovial joints) get their nutrition by the circulation of fluid within the joint. This is enhances by motion. How much a joint moves is dictated by its flexibility. It your joint cannot move properly then your joint cannot eat properly. If your joint doesn’t eat properly it starts to degenerate and lose mobility. Lose too much mobility and you will land into a chiropractor’s office. Lose even more mobility to the extreme and you will land yourself into a surgeon’s office. It is much easier and cheaper to work on flexibility and stretching.

Why do my joints degenerate without motion?

The body is complicated but yet simple at the same time. It takes a lot of energy to keep you going and in working order. Think of how much energy it takes to clean house verses just dropping things on the ground. Likewise, it takes energy to maintain a joint or muscle for that matter. If it is not utilized then why maintain it. Interestingly, fish that live underground in caves are often blind. There is no point to maintain the eyes in working order.

Many healing arts such as chiropractic, yoga, tai chi, physical therapy, and massage utilize motion to help maintain joint health. The body has not changed that much in a thousand years. Consistent themes that transverse many cultures and healing arts feeding threads into modern day healing is something to take seriously when trying to maintain ones health. The old crunchy history professor was correct when he said, “History tends to repeat itself!”