Difference between shoulder flexibility and mobility

[Alessandro Di Sanzo]

Hi all!

I would like to ask a question about flexibility and mobility muscles. They are two complete different things? And how much are correlated with each other?

I mean, does A flexible muscle have also an adeguate mobility?

For example, I read that german hang is a good exercise for improve shoulders flexibility. Is it useful to improve mobility too?

Sorry, but I did not understand this stuff. I need to clarify!

Thank you!

[Colin Macdonald]

I think flexibility means your body can enter a certain ROM without inhibition. Mobility is more about being able to freely move yourself in that ROM without any outside help. So how far somebody can push you into a pike position would represent your maximum flexibility, while doing a hanging leg lift would demonstrate your mobility.

 

Obviously it's impossible to have mobility in a certain ROM without an equivalent passive flexibility. Passive stretching can be good for expanding your ROM. But what we really want is active flexibility/mobility. Just having passive flexibility without the strength to control the movement would lead to joints that are loose and prone to injury.

 

So develop your flexibility, but not as an end goal.

[José Ignacio Varela Suárez]

Mobility & Flexibility are two words with a lot of controversy on its definition.
Some authors say that mobility is for joints and flexibility for muscles and other tissues.
Other authors say that mobility is related with the range of movement capacity plus strength. Sometimes this it is also called active flexibility.
The important thing is to know that there are a lot of intrinsic factors affecting the mobility and flexibility of joints, muscles, etc:
- Tissue lengthening capacity.
- Muscle lengthening capacity.
- Tendon lengthening capacity.
- Ligaments Lengthening capacity.
- Joint movement capacity.
- Central Nervous System, Neural Reflexes.
- Muscle strength in the shortening Range Of Motion.
- Muscle strength in the lengthening Range Of Motion.
The kind of flexibility that you want to improve should tell you which factors you should focus. For example, the active flexibility used to be limited by Strength in the shortening range of motion and the lengthening capacity of the antagonist muscles. For example if you lie on the floor and you try to lift your leg with your own strength, trying to get it closer to your face without help, there are two main factors limiting this: muscle strength in the shortening range of motion (hip flexors) and lengthening capacity of the antagonist (hip extensors).
At the end Flexibility and Mobility are terms. The important thing is to know what are you training and what training effect you want to reach.

[Colin Macdonald]

Mobility & Flexibility are two words with a lot of controversy on its definition.

Some authors say that mobility is for joints and flexibility for muscles and other tissues.

 

I'm curious, what would be the restriction inside the joint that is unrelated to the muscles and fascia? My understanding is that joint restriction is primarily to do with the tissue that surrounds it, not the joint itself.

[José Ignacio Varela Suárez]

Think about the elbow. Some people just can extend their elbow to "X" degrees. Their limits are not muscles or tissues, the limits are in the joints cause of its structure. If you delete all the muscles and tissues of someone with this characteristics it would be completely impossible to extend their elbows. Some people have got hyperextended elbows while others don't. You can improve the elbow extensions' capacity for sure, but there is a movement capacity determined by joint's structure. What I am not sure is if it can be a kind of adaptation for bones in its mobility's capacity, but if it is posible, it is sure that it will take a lot of time.

[Colin Macdonald]

I suppose you could call that joint mobility. But that seems like a pretty limited definition of mobility, considering the context it's usually used in, on GB in particular. For me, limitations due to joint structure is just an aspect of flexibility.

[José Ignacio Varela Suárez]

Sorry because I am from Spain and I may not explain things correctly in English. I don't say that mobility is only for joints. I want to say that flexibility and mobility are words with a lot of controversy on its definition. I don't think that mobility is just for joints and their limits on their structure. I also think that limitations due to joint structure are just one of the factors affecting the flexibility and there are more important factors. In fact, we can improve a lot the flexibility before that joint structure is a limiting factor.
In GymnasticBodies context, and I like those definitions, we use mobility for the ability to produce movement through full range of motion with strength and flexibility for the ability of the muscles and other tissues for being lengthened.
I just want to explain that it is controversy on the definition of those words and sometimes it is important to have another points of view and knowing other factors behind the concepts.

[Colin Macdonald]

No problem, you should hear me trying to explain things in Italian, it isn't pretty.