Range of motion is an oft-cited concern for patients, especially those getting on in years. While many of us try to keep ourselves able to move freely, many need to learn how to do so effectively. If you’ve been struggling to improve your flexibility or feel like you’ve stopped improving, we can help. Struggling to improve is a standard part of any aspect of physical fitness. It’s a state known as a ‘plateau,’ but steps are available that you can take to overcome them. Alternative Health Center of the Woodlands can help you restore or improve your range of motion.
How to Improve Your Range of Motion
You can take numerous steps to help restore, maintain, and improve your range of motion. Of all the ones we’ve looked into, the following represent the most reliable for our patients. Following these tips, you’ll see notable improvements in your range of motion in no time.
- Injury Results In Poor Flexibility – When you experience an injury, it can set your range of motion back. You may not notice the decline initially, but minor injuries can have a lasting effect over time. Working with a physical therapist can help you reverse the damage from old injuries and limit the impact new ones have on your range of motion.
- Mobilize, Manipulate, Stretch – To get the best results from your flexibility training, start with a good slow stretch. Your soft tissues and joints need to be warmed up before working on improvement. This can include gently pulling on the limb to help open the joint, shaking joint rotations, foam rolling, and trigger point work.
- Strength and Flexibility Are Connected – Most people overlook their physical strength while focusing on flexibility. Your muscle’s flexibility depends on that muscle being strong and healthy. This is particularly true to the full extent of your flexibility.
- Stretching Is Key – There are as many ways of stretching and warming up as there are people and trainers. All stretches are not created equal, and there are warm-up stretches, rehabilitation stretches and stretches for improving flexibility and athletic performance.
- Timing Is Everything – When you stretch before working out, you’re doing so to prepare yourself for the workout. This isn’t the same as working on flexibility. Flexibility training is best done 2 hours after you start working out. This provides some time for recovery, but your muscles remain pliable and warm, ready for improvement.
- Sleep, Nutrition, And Hydration – These are the trinity of exercise and flexibility training. Your body must be properly fed, hydrated, and rested to get the most out of any attempt to improve your health and flexibility.
Contact Alternative Health Center Of The Woodlands To Learn More
These tips are just the start of what we can offer those trying to restore, maintain, or improve their flexibility. When you reach our clinic in The Woodlands, TX, you’re connecting with a new way of looking at your overall health. You can call us at (281)-419-9104 to learn more about our services that help patients like you improve their flexibility!
