The previous study suggests that Females are more flexible than male because of Anatomical and Physiological Differences in both sexes. According to Micheal J Alter, Author of Science of flexibility, the pelvic area allows women to have a greater range of motion than man. “Man’s pelvic bones are generally heavier and rougher the cavity is less spacious, and the pubic arch and sacrum are narrower and the acetabula are closer together than women’s. Women have broader and shallower hips than men, this shallowness of the female pelvis permits a greater degree of joint range of motion than man”, said M. Alter.

Micheal described that “Women usually have a greater range of extension in the elbow. This hyperextension ability is sometimes linked to olecranon”. At the bottom of the back of humerus is a notch, called the olecranon fossa. At the top, front of the ulna, is a knob of bone called the olecranon, which just happens to fit into the fossa of the humerus. It’s got a little hook on it. Elbow Hyperextension is limited by contact of the olecranon process of ulna with the olecranon fossa of the humerus. When you reach the limit of maximum ROM, you may feel compression where the two bones are pressed into each other and tension, where the muscles and the joints capsules are under stress. That disrupts the hyperextension ability of the elbow. If an olecranon is small or the groove is deep, you’ll be able to move it 180 degrees. People who can hyperextend their elbows can do that simply because their bones are different in structure. The ability of Hyperextension in the women is simply due to the shorter upper curve of the olecranon process of the elbow than men.

Stiffness is correlated to muscle mass and thickness. Women have less resistance to stretch then man which is a result of their lower muscle mass than men. According to M. Alter, each type of tissue plays a specific role in joint stiffness: “The joint capsule and ligaments are the most important factors, accounting for 47 percent of the stiffness, followed by the muscle’s fascia (41 percent), the tendons (10 percent), and skin (2 percent)”. He said that “the efforts to increase flexibility should be directed at the muscle’s fascia rather than tendons and ligaments because it has the most elastic tissue, and tendons & ligaments are less elastic and does not support prolonged stretching movement.

Relaxin is the hormone that plays an important part to increase laxity (looseness) in ligaments during pregnancy. In females, it is secreted in blood circulation by the corpus luteum in the ovary, during pregnancy it is also released from the placenta. In men, relaxin is secreted from the prostate gland and can be found in the semen, but is not generally found in the blood circulation. Role of relaxin can be understood better during female menstrual cycle and pregnancy whereas relaxin in men is not yet completely cleared. However, there is evidence that it may increase the movement of sperm cells in the semen. The relaxin hormone is lauded for its function in pregnancy, parturition and other aspects of female reproduction. At the same time, the role of relaxin in males is still debated.

With the great responsibility of nature to be a mother, pregnancy presents immense challenges for the female body. The body adapts some changes naturally to provide a comfortable environment for the fetus inside the womb. This includes several changes in hormones, mental thoughts, frequent mood swings along with body posture and joint stability. According to the study 19 percent women when standing, they lean back and increase the curvature of spine by 60 percent. Due to this degree of bendiness the curvature takes place in the lower spine, or lumbar region, over three vertebrae in women – compared with only two in men. The change in posture provides an enhanced curvature and bolstering of the lower spine to maintain the activities during pregnancy.

The bone structure of the joint places some limits on flexibility, depending on its type and its current condition. According to which age can also be a factor limiting flexibility since older joints tend not to be as healthy as younger ones.

Muscle mass can be a factor when the muscle is so heavily developed that it interrupts the joint’s complete range of motion for example, large hamstrings limit the ability to fully bend the knees). Excess fatty tissue also imposes a similar restriction.

Age is a limiting factor as we can see adults are generally more flexible than older ones, kids are more flexible than adults. After adolescence flexibility level off and then decreases. Although flexibility decreases with age, the loss is minimal in individuals who remain active.

As we have already discussed how gender plays an important role in flexibility. It’s not a myth that females are more flexible than males if we consider differences in joint structures, hormones and muscle mass. Practice as a key helps both sexes to achieve great mobility of joints sooner or later.

Summers are more supportive of flexibility than winters. Even many people feel much better stretching in the afternoon rather than in the morning. A good warm-up is also responsible for good stretching. The nature of the warm-up should be intense enough to cause some sweating but not fatigue. Warm-up is necessary to raise the temperature of the body because joints and muscles offer better flexibility at the body temperature of 1 to 2 degree higher than normal. Stretching without warm-up limits flexibility and can increase the risk of injury.

People under training programs like yoga, gymnastics and dancing seem to be more flexible than those who follow resistance training programs or bodybuilding. People in weight training programs majorly focus on large muscles like trapezius, pectoralis major, biceps-triceps, latissimus dorsi and posterior deltoids but only a few of them exercise to strengthen rotator cuff muscles like supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor, which are majorly responsible for the external rotation of shoulders. Spending less time with stretching muscles and connective tissues promotes muscle imbalance and reduced range of motion.

Less active joints can cause chemical changes in connective tissue which restrict flexibility. When connective tissues are unused, it provides significant resistance and limits flexibility. According to the study, the stiffness in the hamstring area is due to prolonged sitting. People who spend most of their time while sitting or following a sedentary lifestyle are facing more issues of stiffness and reduced flexibility than others who are active physically throughout the day.