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Confession: I hate stretching, and I haven’t been able to touch my toes in years. For a while, I shrugged off my lack of flexibility as a minor problem in the grand scheme of my overall fitness. However, it’s recently taken a toll, on both my workouts and my day-to-day functioning. My hip flexors often ache, my running stride feels awkwardly short, and yoga is a painful endeavor. As a fitness writer, I know all about the benefits of stretching: It can increase flexibility, prime your muscles safely for activity, and calm your body after exercise. So this year, I vowed to finally start stretching. The only problem? I had no idea where to start. Luckily, I knew a few experts who could help: physical therapist and yoga teacher Nicole Haas, PT, DPT, founder of Boulder Physiolab in Boulder, Colorado, and physical therapist Kellen Scantlebury, DPT, CSCS, founder of Fit Club NY in New York City. So I tapped them for advice on how I could get started. The first thing I learned? It’s be...

Joints are points in the body where two or more bones meet. Some joints are fixed, meaning they only serve to connect bone and don’t allow for movement. Other joints, like those in your ankles, elbows, and shoulders, are mobile joints. The sternoclavicular joint (SC joint) is a joint within your shoulder. Your shoulder uses several different muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, and bones to move properly. The sternoclavicular joint is one of these joints. Your sternoclavicular joint connects your sternum and your clavicle. Your clavicles are your collarbones, two bones that stretch horizontally from the bottom of your neck to your shoulders. Your clavicles are sandwiched between the sternoclavicular joint and acromioclavicular joint, which connects the clavicle to the shoulder blade. The sternum is your chest bone. It starts between your clavicles and goes down the center of your ribcage. The main job of your sternoclavicular joint is to support your shoulder. It’s the only joint t...