Should you be flexible enough to touch your toes?

Update: 2025-10-14

Description

Whether you can or not, it feels like a sign of fitness to be able to reach down and touch your toes.

But how important is flexibility when it comes to your physical fitness? Is it a necessary part of healthy ageing?

Norman and Tegan stretch through the evidence on flexibility – when does it count, and how can you achieve it?

References:

Genetics of Muscle Stiffness, Muscle Elasticity and Explosive Strength
Genetic associations of body composition, flexibility and injury risk with ACE, ACTN3 and COL5A1 polymorphisms in Korean ballerinas
Whole-spine dynamic magnetic resonance study of contortionists: anatomy and pathology
Practical recommendations on stretching exercise: A Delphi consensus statement of international research experts
The ideal stretching routine – Harvard Health
How stretching actually changes your muscles - Malachy McHugh for Ted-Ed

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You can listen to more episodes of the What’s That Rash? podcast with presenters Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. We answer your questions on everything from TikTok wellness trends to wonder drugs and diet myths.