Growing up I loved the Wizard of Oz. The combination of the music, costumes, and the absurdness of it was really so entertaining. In my work, I often think of the poor Tin Man, who was so stiff and constantly needed to oil his joints to keep mobile. That’s really not too far off from our bodies in a way. We have special lubricating fluid in our joints that helps the joints move smoothly.

The joints in the body bend and straighten, but they also glide in multiple directions. For example, the knee bends and straightens, but as it bends, the tibia (shin bone) glides backwards on the femur (thigh bone). And at the same time, the knee cap glides down. There’s a lot of complexity to that really, and if any part of the bending or gliding is limited, pain can occur.

I’m going to stay with the knee as an example because it’s an easier joint to explain. If you sit with your legs straight out in front of you and relax your thigh muscles, you can use your hands to gently wiggle your kneecap up and down and side to side. If the joint capsule (which is essentially like saran wrap around the joint) here becomes tight due to a new or old injury, a disease process, or disuse, knee dysfunction could occur. In addition, tight muscles can restrict the kneecap’s ability to glide. For example, a tight IT Band will tend to pull the knee cap out to the side, decreasing it’s ability to glide inward and altering the resting and functional alignment of the kneecap. This can cause wearing on the underside of the kneecap which would inflame the joint. Injuries to the knee such as chondromalacia patella, IT Band syndrome, patella dislocation, and patella tenndinitis can all be related to a disruption in the gliding mechanism of the kneecap.

So sometimes when you stretch on your own and don’t see an improvement in flexibility, it may be because the joint isn’t gliding correctly and that is what is limiting your motion and progress. The only way to restore normal flexibility in that case is by mobilizing the joint and stretching the joint capsule. This could be done by a chiropractor or physical therapist. There are also self mobilization straps and wedges you can be instructed to use for mobilizing the neck and back. It’s important to maintain the flexibility of both muscles and joints in order to keep from getting stiff and creaky like my friend the Tin Man.