Flexibility vs Mobility: What’s the Difference?

While often used interchangeably, flexibility and mobility are similar, but have one clear defining characteristic that separates them- control. 

Before we go into defining what mobility is, I want to touch briefly on what it is not. Foam rolling, lacrosse balls, and floss bands are not mobility work. I want to be clear that I am not shitting on myofascial release techniques, those tools have their place. I just want to clear up that while those may create a short term change in range of motion, it is not lasting, and is not mobility.

Spina (2017) defines the following terms as

Flexibility: 

-Capable of being bent, usually without breaking

-The ability to passively achieve a range of motion

-Range of motion for which a person has no control

Mobility:

-Capable of moving or being moved freely and easily

-The ability to actively achieve a range of motion

As you can see, the big difference between flexibility vs mobility is active control.

If I lie on my back, and I use a band or a strap to pull my leg up as high as it can go, that is passive flexibility. How much motion my joint can access.

If I lie on my back and I actively raise my leg as high as I can, that is mobility. How much motion I can control.

When I can access a large range of motion passively, but not actively, that range of motion is useless. I do not have active control or strength there. All passive stretching does is improve your tolerance to stretching. You get better at being passively flexible. What we want to do with mobility work is “teach the nervous system how to control larger ranges of motion” (Spina, 2017)

Why Does This Matter?

The equation for injuries is

Force > Tolerance. 

If the applied force to a joint, muscle, or tissue is greater than its tolerance of force, that results in an injury. When I can access a range of motion passively, with no control, I cannot generate, or tolerate force in that position. This is why it is so important to have mobility, where I can control my range of motion and have strength at my end ranges. 

If I am constantly “tight” or “stiff”, my nervous system is regulating how much I can move because it’s afraid I’m going to hurt myself. The goal isn’t to lengthen muscles, the goal is to improve my nervous system perception and control in new areas and ranges. 

For more information, head on over to Control and Create!

If you are one of the many who is chronically “tight”, and can’t move as freely as you would like, our programming will take you from tight and stiff, to free and happy. You shouldn’t have to keep living in pain. Start improving your movement quality today!

References

Spina, Dr. Andreo A. “Functional Range Conditioning Certification.” Functional Anatomy Seminars. 2017.