Some individuals more flexible than others? | Alexander Orthopedics (2024)

FAQs

Why do some individuals have more flexible joints than others? ›

There are a number of different factors that may contribute to why some people are more flexible than others. Genetics, gender, exercise history and other reasons contribute to a person's flexibility.

Genetics. Unfortunately, this is where you are dealt the card you're given. Some people are simply more flexible than others, and this is something you can't help. For the vast majority of people, genetic variations will not have as much of an impact on them over the course of their life as their habits will.

Many variables affect the loss of normal joint flexibility including injury, inactivity or a lack of stretching. The range of motion will be influenced by the mobility of the soft tissues that surround the joint. These soft tissues include: muscles, ligaments, tendons, joint capsules, and skin.

While men have a stronger and a better ability to build muscle mass (thanks to testosterone) women on the other hand have a lean, longer and more elastic muscle structure enabling them to outperform men in flexibility tasks.

Internally, the joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments can affect one's flexibility. As previously mentioned, each part of the body has its own limitations and combined, the range of motion can be affected. The mental attitude of the performer during the state of motion can also affect their range.

Maintain an active lifestyle

It's the No. 1 rule of joint health: The more you move, the more flexible your joints will be, meaning the lower risk of trauma you have. Start with small things, like avoiding sitting for a long time.

For example, body composition, physical condition and especially flexibility, which are considered as important ones for ballet, are determined by genetic factors [27,28].

Every joint in the human body has a different structure. Ball-and-socket joints (such as hips and shoulders), allow us to move our limbs in different directions. Some people have different joint structures, such as a longer or shorter femoral neck or depth of a hip socket. This has an effect on range of motion.

Hypermobility is genetic (you are born with it) and is determined by how stretchy your ligaments are, as well as the length of your muscles and fascia (connective tissue) and the shape of your joints. There is a very simple test to determine whether you are genetically hypermobile (flexible) or hypomobile (inflexible).

Factors effecting Flexibility

Joint Structure: Dictates how much ROM the joint has. Muscle Imbalance: Muscle strength and length imbalance will reduce flexibility due to unequal pulls from antagonistic muscles. Muscle Control: Lack of strength to control the working muscle in certain movements can limit flexibility.

What does bone flexibility depend on? ›

Collagen is what gives bones flexibility. Collagen is a protein fiber that is located throughout the body. It can be found in skin and connective tissues such as cartilage, tendons, bones, and ligaments. The bone flexibility that collagen provides helps protect bones from breaking.

Yoga is one of the best forms of activity for increasing flexibility and core strength. People who participate in repetitive motion activities – think cycling, running and swimming – are at highest risk of developing tightness in their muscles and joints.

Being flexible in the right areas can actually make you quicker, faster, and ultimately a more powerful athlete.

You might think flexibility is something you're born with -- you either have it or you don't. While your flexibility level does have ties to genetics (we can't all be contortionists), you might be surprised to learn that you can build flexibility just as you can build strength, endurance or speed.

This study has demonstrated that in normal subjects, Asians have a higher flexibility in general indicated by their high median Beighton score. The ROMs of wrist and hand was greater in Asians and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05).

The ligaments of a joint prevent excessive movement that could damage the joint. As a general rule, the more ligaments a joint has, and the tighter they are, the more stable the joint is.

Then you likely have hypermobility of your joints, with a greater range of motion than the general public, making them extremely flexible in certain areas. About 30% of the adult population, the majority of which are women, are naturally double-jointed – although its prevalence does decrease with age.

We usually think of joint and soft tissue flexibility as desirable. However, there is such a thing as being too flexible. Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) are a group of connective tissue diseases that can cause an individual to have chronic joint looseness/instability and can lead to persistent pain.

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) (A-lurz DAN-loss SIN-drome) and hypermobility spectrum disorders are conditions where your joints stretch more than normal. People with these conditions are at risk of injury because their joints are too flexible.