The Official Internet Site of Vanderbilt Athletics Flexibility can be defined as the degree of extensibility of the soft tissue structures surrounding the joints, such as muscle, tendons, and connective tissue. Flexibility is related to age and physical activity. As a person ages, flexibility decreases, although this is due more to inactivity than the aging process itself.
Flexibility is an integral factor in the prevention of sport related injuries.
A good degree of extensibility of the muscles, tendons, and connective tissues, decreases the chance of injury. A major attribute of flexibility is a good warm-up and stretching program. When stretching, a slow, gradual movement is recommended to minimize the reflex action of the muscle spindle mechanism and enhance the stretching process. This type of stretching is called Static. Static stretch is a constant stretch in which the end position is held for 5-30 seconds.