Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 1,233, Improving Flexibility and Mobility.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 1,233.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
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In this episode, we're going to hear a dialogue between Rashida and Phil and about helping your body become more flexible, being able to move your arms and your legs the way you're supposed to.
Let's get started.
Hi, I'm Rashida and I'm your physical therapist.
I'm here to help you regain flexibility and mobility after your accident.
I'm really not sure I need a physical therapist.
I can move around pretty well right now.
Not really.
See?
I'm fine.
You can't lift them above your shoulders.
I can help you improve your range of motion.
Now, let's check out your hips and legs.
Can you bend at the waist and touch your toes?
Are you able to squat?
I think you need more than stretching.
I'll work you through some exercises that will strengthen your muscles and loosen scar tissue.
You'll be able to move more freely.
Don't you want that?
Will it hurt?
Only a little.
Let's get started.
Ow!
Ow!
Ow!
We haven't started yet.
Rashida begins our dialogue by saying to Phil, Hi, I'm Rashida, and I'm your physical therapist.
A physical therapist, T-H-E-R-A-P-I-S-T, is a person who helps people who are either sick or or perhaps injured, to improve their physical movements, the movements of their arms and their legs, principally, by using certain kinds of massages and exercises.
A physical therapist doesn't use drugs or surgery, typically.
Rather a physical therapist tries to help you regain or once again have the movement in your arms and your legs and the rest of your body that you're supposed to have.
So if you, for example, break your leg, you might need a physical therapist to help you get the muscles in your legs strong again so you can walk normally.
Rashida says that she is Here to help Phil regain flexibility and mobility after his accident.
To regain, R-E-G-A-I-N, means to recover or to get again what you had before.
So if you used to be the number one person at a certain activity, say a video game, and then you lose your position as number one, you will want to regain it.
You will want to get it back again.
You will want to be as good as you were before.
In the dialogue we're talking about regaining flexibility.
F l e x i b i l i, t y.
Flexibility is how you are able to move your body parts again, usually your arms and your legs.
The flexibility you have allows you to move around the way you want to.
Mobility M-O-B-I-L-I-T-Y is related to flexibility, except mobility refers specifically to being able to move from one place to another, such as by walking.
Usually, when we refer to mobility, we're talking about the ability to walk.
Flexibility can refer simply to one's ability to move one's arms back and forth, for example, or to be able to put both arms straight up in the air.
The two concepts are related but refer to slightly different things.
Phil isn't sure he needs a physical therapist.
He says he can move around pretty well, meaning very well, right now.
Rashida says, aren't you feeling stiffness in your arms and tightness in your shoulders?
Stiffness, S-T-I-F-F-N-E-S-S, is a feeling of difficulty when you move your muscles, especially if you haven't used your muscles in a long time, or perhaps you've overused your muscles.
You know when you, for example...
Get up one morning and your muscles are difficult to move, perhaps because you were doing some physical activity yesterday that you don't normally do.
That would be an example of stiffness in your muscles.
Tightness, T-I-G-H-T-N-E-S-S, is similar to stiffness.
It refers to a feeling of not being able to move your arms and legs the way you should be able to.
When you try to move them, you may feel pain, for example.
Tightness in some ways is the opposite of flexibility.
To be flexible means to be able to move without any pain or difficulty.
Phil says he does not feel any stiffness in his arms or tightness in his shoulders.
Your shoulders are, of course, where your arms meet your body.
Rashida says, try lifting your arms over your head.
To lift something means to raise it up in the air.
Rashida is asking Phil to put his arms above his head.
Phil says, see, I'm fine.
He doesn't have any difficulty doing that.
Rashida says, however, you can't lift them above your shoulders.
So Phil is not actually able to put his hands above where his shoulders are.
She says, I can help you improve your range of motion.
Motion, M-O-T-I-O-N, refers to movement, moving things.
Your range is how far or how much you can move.
In this case, how much you could move your arms and legs, I suppose.
Rashida says, now let's check your hips and legs.
Your hips, H-I-P-S, refers to the area where your legs meet the rest of your body.
Phil says, there's nothing wrong with my hips and legs.
Rashida then asks Phil, can you bend at the waist? and touch your toes.
To bend B-E-N-D at the waist, W-A-I-S-T means the same as to bend over to stand usually, and then try to touch the ground with your hands.
Rashida tells Phil to bend at the waist and touch his toes with his hands, of course.
Rashida then asks, are you able to squat?
S-Q-U-A-T.
To squat means to bend your knees and in order to lower the rest of your body closer to the ground.
It's almost like sitting, but you're not actually sitting on anything.
You are instead bending your knees and bringing your body down towards the ground.
Phil claims that he could probably squat if he stretched and limbered up.
To stretch S-T-R-E-T-C-H in this case refers to slowly extending the length of your muscles and As part of warming up before exercising or participating in some sort of physical activity such as a sport.
Stretching is very common among athletes, people who play sports.
To limber L-I-M-B-E-R up is a two-word phrasal verb that means something very similar to the expression to stretch.
It can also mean the same as to warm up, which is to get your body ready, your muscles ready, to do physical activity.
Rashida says, I think you need more than stretching.
I'll work you through some exercises, meaning I will direct you to do some exercises with me, helping you.
That will strengthen your muscles and loosen scar tissue.
Your muscles are the parts of your body that move the bones of your body back and forth.
To strengthen S-T-R-E-N-G-T-H-E-N means to make something stronger, to make something more powerful.
Rashida wants to strengthen Phil's muscles and, as well as loosen L-O-O-S-E-N scar, S-C-R tissue, T-I-S-S-U-E.
To loosen something means to allow it to move freely.
It means to make something less tight.
To tighten is the opposite of to loosen.
Scar tissue refers to thick dense tissue, which is a material in your body that sometimes is formed after you injure yourself, especially around your muscles.
Rashida tells Phil that if she is able to do these exercises with him, he'll be able to move more freely.
F-R-E-E-L-Y.
Freely means without any limitations, without any restrictions in his movement.
Rashida then asks Phil...
Don't you want that?
Meaning, is this something you want?
When we say, don't you want that?
We're assuming that the other person does want it.
Phil, however, is afraid that it's going to hurt.
It is going to cause pain.
Rashida says, only a little.
Let's get started.
Immediately, Phil starts to cry out in pain.
Now remember, Phil seemed like such a tough guy, such a strong guy just a few minutes ago.
But when Rashida says she's going to start doing these exercises with Phil, Phil says, Ow!
Ow!
Ow, usually spelled O-W, is the sound we make when we are in pain.
Rashida says we haven't started yet, meaning she hasn't even started doing the exercises and already Phil is complaining about the pain.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Hi, I'm Rashida, and I'm your physical therapist.
I'm here to help you regain flexibility and mobility after your accident.
I'm really not sure I need a physical therapist.
I can move around pretty well right now.
Aren't you feeling stiffness in your arms and tightness in your shoulders?
Not really.
Try lifting your arms over your head.
See?
I'm fine.
You can't lift them above your shoulders.
I can help you improve your range of motion.
Now let's check out your hips and legs.
There's nothing wrong with my hips and legs.
Can you bend at the waist and touch your toes?
Are you able to squat?
I probably could if I stretched and limbered up.
I think you need more than stretching.
I'll work you through some exercises that will strengthen your muscles and loosen scar tissue.
You'll be able to move more freely.
Don't you want that?
Will it hurt?
Only a little.
Let's get started.
Ow, ow, ow!
We haven't started yet.
You can strengthen your English by listening to our wonderful scripts, by our wonderful script writer, Dr Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcasts.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2016 by the Center for Educational Development.
