WHY DO WE GET STIFFER AS WE AGE – AND WHAT CAN WE ACTUALLY DO ABOUT IT?

You probably know the feeling. You get up from the sofa and your body protests a little more than it used to. Your back feels stiff after a day at your desk. Your hips creak when you bend down to tie your shoes. It happens gradually – not overnight, but year by year – until one day you wonder: where did all that mobility go?

It’s easy to assume that stiffness is simply something we have to accept as we get older. But mobility is actually one of the most overlooked aspects of our health – and research is beginning to show why it deserves more attention, not less.

MOBILITY IS ABOUT MORE THAN BEING ABLE TO TOUCH YOUR TOES

In 2024, a large study was published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, led by researcher Claudio Gil Araújo and his team in Rio de Janeiro. They followed more than 3,100 people aged 46 to 65 for an average of nearly 13 years. Each participant had their flexibility assessed across seven different joints – from the shoulders and hips to the wrists and spine – which was then combined into a flexibility score known as the Flexindex.

This made it one of the first larger studies to suggest that flexibility may play an independent role in health – rather than simply being a side effect of being strong or physically fit.

WHY COULD MOBILITY MATTER SO MUCH?

The researchers themselves are careful not to draw conclusions that go beyond the evidence – this was an observational study, meaning it found an association rather than proving cause and effect. However, there are several plausible explanations:

• — Stiff joints can make you less likely to move. Everyday movement – walking, bending and reaching – is itself associated with better health.
• — Mobility is closely connected to balance. Reduced mobility in the ankles and hips can make it harder to recover from a stumble before it turns into a fall.
• — Muscle stiffness may reflect stiffness in the body’s blood vessels. Research has suggested an association between musculoskeletal stiffness and arterial stiffness, which in turn is linked to cardiovascular health.

In other words, when you stretch a tight hamstring, it isn’t only about being able to bend down more comfortably. It may be one small part of a much bigger picture.

THE GOOD NEWS: MOBILITY CAN BE TRAINED AT ANY AGE

Unlike many other factors, mobility is something you can actively work on – and it’s never too late to start. You don’t need to become as flexible as a gymnast. It’s about regularly giving your joints and muscles the opportunity to move through their full range of motion.

A few simple ways to get started:

• — Keep it short and do it often. A few minutes of stretching several times a week can make a bigger difference over time than one long session once a month.
• — Focus on the major joints. The hips, shoulders, spine and ankles are areas where many of us tend to develop stiffness, particularly if we spend much of the day sitting.
• — Make it a routine, not a project. Just like strength training, consistency over time is what makes the difference.

That’s also why we created the Stretch & Mobility Board – to make those short mobility sessions easier to actually get done. A tool that helps keep your body in position can make it easier to stretch in a controlled and consistent way, without having to come up with an entire routine every time.

Mobility isn’t glamorous. Nobody posts a story about spending ten minutes stretching their calves. But if the research is pointing us in the right direction, it may be one of the simplest things you can do to look after your body in the long run.