Flexibility

Flexibility, or a joint’s range of motion, prevents against injuries during exercise and other strenuous activity.

Good flexibility is a fundamental element of a young athlete’s training program, as it enables him or her to perform various movements and skills easily while preventing strains.

Importance of Flexibility

•    During a child’s growth period (ages 13 to 15), height may increase nearly one inch a month.  Muscles and tendons do not grow as quickly as growing bones.

•    Back injuries can result from the bones of the spine growing faster than its muscles – often the result of poor flexibility

•    Another common injury due to poor flexibility is kneecap pain and the eventual destruction of its cartilage, frequently caused by too much knee-bending when the quadriceps and hamstrings are tightened by the rapid growth of thigh bones.

•    Flexibility training should be emphasized throughout the pre-pubescent stage and puberty, which allows the child to continue developing strong joints while fixing anatomical problems, such as legs growing disproportionately or a change in leverage between the legs and the torso that may occur during growth.

Benefits of good flexibility

• Reduced risk of injury
• Improved circulation
• Better posture and healthier back

• Elongated muscles

Did you know … ?

•   Flexibility exercises progressively stretch the muscles to relieve muscle tightness, which 
  prevents injury. 
•   Flexibility must be maintained throughout one's lifetime
•   Improving overall flexibility involves all the joints in the body in order to result in the best possible development.
•   Puberty is the developmental stage when gender differences in flexibility are the largest.
•   Good flexibility improves blood circulation
•  The length of a child’s muscles is determined genetically but can b
  e affected by strength training