Flexitest:An Innovative Flexibility Assessment Method

Flexitest: An Innovative Flexibility Assessment Method introduces Flexitest, a simple, easy-to-learn grading system that simultaneously measures and evaluates the flexibility of 20 different individual joint movements. Now you will be able to really evaluate, rather than just measure, flexibility for individuals of all age groups and physical activity levels.

Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, a Brazilian sports medicine physician with a PhD in physiology, has spent more than 20 years developing and perfecting the Flexitest method. This concise resource clearly explains how to use Flexitest in different settings, with valuable coverage of data acquisition, analysis, and statistics.

The book is organized into three parts and includes the following features:
-More than 100 accurate photographs of the assessment of 20 joint movements

-Numerous figures and tables presenting the flexogram and flexindex data

-Supplemented photographs, scientific full text papers and abstracts, and other materials available via the author's institutional Web site - http://www.clinimex.com.br- for viewing and downloading
Flexitest book proposes a 18-point classification system that makes it easy to compare and contrast different flexibility assessment techniques; it will appeal to any professional whose job involves flexibility assessment. The author discusses how to determine a global index of body flexibility, called Flexindex, using the assessment of different joints. He presents normative and statistical information for over 3,000 male and female subjects ranging in age from 5 to 88 and the Flexitest profiles of more than 400 athletes from a variety of sports.

You'll also find a self-evaluation test, a review of contemporary flexibility testing methods, variables affecting flexibility assessments, and a rationale for the use of Flexitest based on several controlled studies.

The information presented in Flexitest: An Innovative Flexibility Assessment Method is clear enough for practitioners to begin using the technique immediately, yet it is detailed enough to meet the scientific needs of researchers.

This guide introduces a grading system for the measurement and evaluation of the flexibility of 20 joints. It explains how to use the Flextest system in different settings, and discusses the specifics of data acquisition, analysis, and statistics. Approximately 100 photographs, as well as numerous diagrams and data tables, are provided to assist with the evaluation process. Self-tests, a review of contemporary testing methods, a discussion of variables affecting assessments, and an empiricall y-based rationale for the system's use are also included. Soares de Araújo is a sports medicine physician and a physiologist. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Claudio Gil Soares de Araújo, MD, MSc, PhD, is a professor at Gama Filho University and medical director of CLINIMEX in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A practicing physician in exercise and sports medicine who is dedicated to productive research, he has used Flexitest on more than 4,000 subjects in his practice since 1979.

Dr. Araújo has worked in supervised exercise programs and cardiopulmonary exercise testing since the 1980s. He also coordinated the medical evaluation of the Brazilian athletes during the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games.

He earned his MD, MSc, and PhD from the University Federal Rio de Janeiro. As part of his medical training, he was a research fellow in cardiorespiratory and exercise areas in 1979 at McMaster University in Canada. Dr. Araújo is an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) fellow, committee member, and presenter at ACSM annual meetings.