Our goal with this spondylolisthesis exercise term series was to simply provide and educate you with the four different parts that help to create proper movement.
If you have yet to read the first parts of this series you can do so by clicking on the links below:
Introduction
Part 1: Strength
Part 2: Stability
Part 3: Mobility
Today we are talking about the fourth and final installment of this series: flexibility.
WHAT IS FLEXIBILITY?
In a nutshell, flexibility is the ability of your joints, and the muscles that interact with these joints to go through a specific range of motion.
Good flexibility is associated with good posture, good health, and a possible reduction or decreased likely hood of injury.
Having an adequate amount of flexibility is important to allow your body to get into the proper positioning to allow specific muscle groups perform their jobs correctly.
Those who suffer from a lack of flexibility are sometimes injured. This is caused by stress that is applied to inappropriate areas when failing to achieve the proper positioning.
It is also possible to suffer from issues related to too much flexibility. Having too much flexibility is often accompanied by a lack of stability and support at the end range of certain movements. This can lead to unwanted stress and pressure on ligaments, joints and even bones.
If you have yet to read the first parts of this series you can do so by clicking on the links below:
Introduction
Part 1: Strength
Part 2: Stability
Part 3: Mobility
Today we are talking about the fourth and final installment of this series: flexibility.
WHAT IS FLEXIBILITY?
In a nutshell, flexibility is the ability of your joints, and the muscles that interact with these joints to go through a specific range of motion.
Good flexibility is associated with good posture, good health, and a possible reduction or decreased likely hood of injury.
Having an adequate amount of flexibility is important to allow your body to get into the proper positioning to allow specific muscle groups perform their jobs correctly.
Those who suffer from a lack of flexibility are sometimes injured. This is caused by stress that is applied to inappropriate areas when failing to achieve the proper positioning.
It is also possible to suffer from issues related to too much flexibility. Having too much flexibility is often accompanied by a lack of stability and support at the end range of certain movements. This can lead to unwanted stress and pressure on ligaments, joints and even bones.
HOW DOES FLEXIBILITY AFFECT SPONDY’S?
Having poor flexibility in areas such as the ankles, hips, quads, hamstrings, glutes and muscles in the upper back and shoulders, can lead to compensation patterns affect the stress on the low back.
Suffering from poor flexibility in any of these areas may force your body to use the low back to help compensate for the movements
that require an adequate amount of flexibility. Instead of your hips going through their full range of motion, the low back may pick up the slack and attempt to bend in a certain direction to make up for the poor flexibility of the hips.
This might not be horrible if it only happened once or twice, but throughout the course of the day your repetitive bad movement puts a ton of stress on the back. This can lead to spondylolisthesis or spondylolysis issues in the long run.
Activities such as sitting, repetitive sports, injuries, age and poor posture can all affect your flexibility.
Having a decent amount of flexibility in areas that greatly influence the movement of your low back becomes vital to a proper spondylolisthesis recovery.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT STRETCHING?
First of all, it is important to understand that stretching isn’t the end all be all to getting rid of your spondy related pain.
Yes, stretching can help and improve how you move, but unless you combine your increased range of motion with strength, stability and mobility improvements you may not get as much relief as you like. As we have mentioned
before, it is important to improve all areas of movement.
With that being said, there are several different ways to stretch. From static to dynamic and even active isolated stretching. They all have different scientific evidence backing up their pros and cons.
We love to incorporate foam rolling with our stretching to help individuals improve range of motion. You can read about foam rolling HERE. This helps to increase blood flow and reduce restrictions in the soft tissues that interact with your range of motion. After foam rolling we then stretch the areas of tightness depending on the individual.
The absolute best way to figure out what to stretch is to see a professional and get a screen to assess your individual
weaknesses. We talked about this HERE.
I could provide one or two simple stretches for you to follow, however everyone is different. Seeking a professional to determine your exact areas of tightness is the absolute best way to determine what YOU should stretch.
Instead of searching the internet for the "magic" stretch, we highly reccommend you find a certified professional to help you determine the best way to stretch along witht he best stretches to help your specific tightnesses.
CONCLUSION
As you can see flexibility is a very important spondylolisthesis term you should know. Out of the four terms, flexibility is probably the most common and most talked about.
For that reason, many people tend to only focus on flexibility leaving out the other crucial components of having proper movement. Doing so will lead to reoccurring issues and pain.
If you have been screened and have been diagnosed with tightness in certain areas, continue to focus on improving the flexibility in these areas while you add strength, stability and mobility to areas in need as well.
This will provide you with the best attack for finding relief from your spondy pain and achieving proper movement and a healthier life.
Having poor flexibility in areas such as the ankles, hips, quads, hamstrings, glutes and muscles in the upper back and shoulders, can lead to compensation patterns affect the stress on the low back.
Suffering from poor flexibility in any of these areas may force your body to use the low back to help compensate for the movements
that require an adequate amount of flexibility. Instead of your hips going through their full range of motion, the low back may pick up the slack and attempt to bend in a certain direction to make up for the poor flexibility of the hips.
This might not be horrible if it only happened once or twice, but throughout the course of the day your repetitive bad movement puts a ton of stress on the back. This can lead to spondylolisthesis or spondylolysis issues in the long run.
Activities such as sitting, repetitive sports, injuries, age and poor posture can all affect your flexibility.
Having a decent amount of flexibility in areas that greatly influence the movement of your low back becomes vital to a proper spondylolisthesis recovery.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT STRETCHING?
First of all, it is important to understand that stretching isn’t the end all be all to getting rid of your spondy related pain.
Yes, stretching can help and improve how you move, but unless you combine your increased range of motion with strength, stability and mobility improvements you may not get as much relief as you like. As we have mentioned
before, it is important to improve all areas of movement.
With that being said, there are several different ways to stretch. From static to dynamic and even active isolated stretching. They all have different scientific evidence backing up their pros and cons.
We love to incorporate foam rolling with our stretching to help individuals improve range of motion. You can read about foam rolling HERE. This helps to increase blood flow and reduce restrictions in the soft tissues that interact with your range of motion. After foam rolling we then stretch the areas of tightness depending on the individual.
The absolute best way to figure out what to stretch is to see a professional and get a screen to assess your individual
weaknesses. We talked about this HERE.
I could provide one or two simple stretches for you to follow, however everyone is different. Seeking a professional to determine your exact areas of tightness is the absolute best way to determine what YOU should stretch.
Instead of searching the internet for the "magic" stretch, we highly reccommend you find a certified professional to help you determine the best way to stretch along witht he best stretches to help your specific tightnesses.
CONCLUSION
As you can see flexibility is a very important spondylolisthesis term you should know. Out of the four terms, flexibility is probably the most common and most talked about.
For that reason, many people tend to only focus on flexibility leaving out the other crucial components of having proper movement. Doing so will lead to reoccurring issues and pain.
If you have been screened and have been diagnosed with tightness in certain areas, continue to focus on improving the flexibility in these areas while you add strength, stability and mobility to areas in need as well.
This will provide you with the best attack for finding relief from your spondy pain and achieving proper movement and a healthier life.
