29/09/2026
Safety and flexibility often come hand in hand.
When we improve flexibility, we’re not simply making muscles, tendons or fascia “longer”.
Research suggests that improvements in range of motion can also come from changes in stretch tolerance and sensory perception.
Essentially, how much stretch-related sensation we’re comfortable experiencing (Warneke et al., 2025; Freitas et al., 2018).
And perception is influenced by more than mechanoreceptors. Pain, previous experiences, expectations, fear and perceived threat can all influence how we experience and express movement (Thomas et al., 2008; Matheve et al., 2021).
I see this regularly when teaching Pilates.
Put someone on an unfamiliar chair or reformer, change the load or introduce a new movement and they may initially appear stiffer or more guarded.
Give them time to experience the movement and realise they can successfully manage it and, quite often, more range appears.
In my experience, how I cue, introduce the movement and simply show up and be present with that person can influence how quickly this happens.
Flexibility isn’t purely mechanical. It’s influenced by our tissues, nervous system, sensory experience and the context in which we move.
Sometimes we don’t need to force more range.
We need to create the conditions that allow someone to explore it.
Movement is medicine
Tom
