Learning new stretches (and really anything else) is tricky enough without the fancy lingo. Sometimes the phrases or words can sounds like they are from another language.. but fret no more! Find out the meaning and difference behind terms like flexibility, extensibility, and range of motion right in here.

MOBILITY:

The ability of structures or segments of the body to be moved. This movement contains everything from simple to complex motor skills.

The term mobility will be used as an alternative to range of motion throughout our website, but it is important to distinguish the difference as far as terminology is concerned. Mobility has a lot more freedom (ha!) whereas range of motion is a bit more specific / narrow.

RANGE OF MOTION:

The range in which a portion of your body may move. Often referring to the mobility of a specific joint.

Performing a shoulder check in your vehicle when changing lanes is a complex movement, but one of the biggest factors is cervical (neck) rotation. Having a reduced range of motion with regards to cervical rotation would hinder this action. But to use larger scale you could simply say that this persons neck mobility (or even overall mobility) is restricted or reduced. Do you notice the difference? It is subtle, but it is there.

HYPOMOBILITY:

Decreased mobility or restriction of motion. This can be due to a number of things, such as: sedentary lifestyle, trauma, pain, extrinsic objects (i.e. cast), postural deformity or structural mis- / malalignment, etc.

HYPERMOBILITY:

Opposite to the above, hypermobility is an increased and excessive mobility, but often resuls in instability or pain. This can also be due to a number of things, but it is usually the result of the integrity of a joint being compromised (allowing a segment of your body to move further than normal).

Hypermobility may not always be a bad thing; and in fact it can be positive in strong and healthy individuals who participate in sports that require extensive flexibility. Where this becomes detrimental is when this compromised joint integrity in-turn causes joint instability.. which is where the pain often comes from (as stated previously).

FLEXIBILITY:

Refers to the movement of, and within, a single joint / series of joints through an unrestricted and pain-free range. This can also be further simplified as the ability to bend without breaking. Things that factor into someones flexibility are: joint integrity, arthrokinematics (whether the joint in question has surfaces that slide or roll, etc.), and surrounding tissue health in conjunction with muscle length.

Where terms such as this really get confusing (and don’t worry, I won’t go into it right now haha) is when you find out that a term like ‘dynamic flexibility‘ means the exact same as ‘active range of motion‘.

EXTENSIBILITY:

Intrinsically linked to the muscle-tendon unit, this is the ability of a muscle to be elongated and stretched. If it crosses a joint, a muscles extensibility allows it to relax, lengthen, and yield.

CONTRACTURE:

Adaptive shortening of the muscle-tendon unit and other soft tissues that cross / surround a joint. This results in: mobility limitations (which may compromise functional ability) and also a significant resistance to stretching.

CONTRACTION:

Differing from a contracture, a contraction is the process by which tension develops in the muscle while shortening or lengthening. These two terms should not be used interchangeably.

STRETCH:

General term used to describe the results that happen when any therapeutic maneuver is done that was designed to increase the extensibility of soft tissues (which then improves flexibility and range of motion) by lengthening structures that have adaptively shortened and become hypomobile over time. This is done by moving a restricted segment past its available range.

OVERSTRETCHING:

This happens when a stretch went well beyond the normal length of muscle / range of a joint and the surrounding soft tissues, affecting the joints integrity and potentially the stability too. This can cause hypermobility.

SELF-STRETCHING:

Any stretching exercise that is carried out independently by someone after instruction and supervision by a therapist.