As a lifelong dancer or athlete, you're constantly searching for answers. Sorting through opinions and expert advice can be overwhelming, especially when it’s packed with complex terms.
In this blog, we’ll break down the difference between flexibility and mobility. While they may sound similar, understanding the distinction can be key to staying agile, balanced, and injury-free. And to support your mobility, we’ll introduce AA Physical Therapy Reset Method, designed to help you maximize your body’s movement potential and reduce pain.
Athletic Advantage Physical Therapy Explains Flexibility
Think of a rubber band stretched between your fingers. Pull it too far, and it snaps. Flexibility, when it comes to muscles, is about how far they can lengthen passively — meaning when an external force is applied. For example, when you bend forward to touch your toes, gravity assists the stretch in your hamstrings, showing your passive flexibility.
Here’s a simple way to see flexibility in action: hold out your index finger on one hand, then use your other hand to gently pull it back. The distance it can be pulled back (without pain) represents its passive range of motion. The more flexible your muscles and joints, the farther they can stretch before resistance kicks in.
Athletic Advantage Physical Therapy
Explains MOBILITY
Mobility is often confused with flexibility, but the two are distinct. While flexibility is the capacity of your body to stretch with assistance, mobility is your ability to actively control the movement. In other words, it’s the range of motion your muscles and joints allow on their own.
To test your hip mobility, stand up and lift your knee as high as it comfortably goes without using your hands. Now, move it in a big circle, clockwise and counterclockwise. This motion demonstrates your hip’s active range of motion, showing how far your muscles and joints can move without assistance. Mobility builds on flexibility, but it takes it a step further, allowing you to move with control and precision.
Mobility depends on being able to move freely and with strength within your flexible range. Active mobility will always be slightly less than what you can achieve passively with a stretch. So, if your flexibility is limited, your mobility will be too. Improving flexibility expands your active movement range, giving you better control and lowering your risk of injury.
How AAPT’s Method Can Boost Your Mobility
At AA Physical Therapy, we understand that imbalances in nervous system output can alter movement patterns, leading to pain and restricted mobility. That’s why we created the AAPT Method — a treatment model designed to help release tension and reset your body’s movement patterns, relieving pain and enhancing mobility.
Hypersensitive muscles often play a big role in limiting movement and causing discomfort. Our method targets these hypersensitive regions, aiming to relax and restore nervous system output where imbalances often go unnoticed. By addressing these sensitive areas, your body can move more effectively, with improved functionality and decreased pain.
When muscles constrict and tighten, mobility becomes restricted, increasing the likelihood of pain with each movement. At Athletic Advantage Physical Therapy our Reset Method focuses on identifying and relieving these tight, painful, or hypersensitive muscles, allowing you to move more freely and confidently.
The End Goal: Optimized Movement and Performance
Understanding flexibility and mobility — and how they work together — is crucial to boost your optimal performance. With AA Physical Therapy Reset Method, you can support these essential functions, keeping your muscles relaxed and your nervous system balanced. Whether you're on the field, on the dance floor, or just aiming for better movement, improving both flexibility and mobility will help keep you moving freely, balanced, and ready for whatever comes your way.
Here are a few exercises we’ve recently added to our library:
At AAPT, we are committed to helping athletes and dancers at every level stay strong, flexible, and injury-free. Whether you’re a competitive dancer, a professional, or just starting out, our team has the expertise to help you achieve your goals. Contact us today!
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