The Healthspan Map · Fitness (Ch7-8)

Flexibility

Compiled by Aamir Malik, PhD, Professor of Neuroengineering at Brno University of Technology, from published studies. He is a researcher, not a physician. Last updated 21 August 2026.

What this is linked to

Where Flexibility is linked: 3 sources.In the order the Map holds them: strongest evidence first. That is a statement about the evidence, not about what matters most.
Condition or system	Direction	Strength	Evidence type	What was found	Source
Musculoskeletal	Watch this	Moderate	Cohort / observational	Reduced body flexibility (scored across 20 movements in 7 joints) was strongly, inversely associated with mortality over 13 years.	Araujo et al., Scand J Med Sci Sports 2024 (Flexindex, n=3,139) (opens in a new tab)
Musculoskeletal	Watch this	Moderate	Cohort / observational	Flexibility-type physical activity was associated with lower all-cause and cause-specific mortality.	Cho et al., BMC Public Health 2023 (Korean cohort) (opens in a new tab)
Cardiovascular	Watch this	Emerging	Mechanistic	Poor trunk flexibility is associated with arterial stiffness, a cardiovascular risk marker (musculoskeletal-vascular link).	Yamamoto et al., Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2009 (opens in a new tab)

The Healthspan Map is part of Fix the Floor, a book by Aamir Malik. About the book