~ 370 ~  International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health 2016; 3(6): 370-372 P-ISSN: 2394-1685 E-ISSN: 2394-1693 Impact Factor (ISRA): 5.38 IJPESH 2016; 3(6): 370-372 © 2016 IJPESH www.kheljournal.com Received: 01-09-2016 Accepted: 02-10-2016 Mohammad Muzamil Shah PhD Research Scholar, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Delhi, India Dr. Sandhya Tiwari Associate Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Delhi, India Correspondence Mohammad Muzamil Shah PhD Research Scholar, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Delhi, India Flexibility of the lower back and hamstring muscles among 14 to 17 year old school boys Mohammad Muzamil Shah and Dr. Sandhya Tiwari Abstract The aim of the study was to access and compare lower back and hamstring muscles flexibility among 14 to 17 year old school boys. For the purpose of this study 400 school boys studying in various schools of Delhi were selected. The age of the subjects ranged between 14 to 17 years. The selected subjects were divided into four groups, Fourteen (n=100), Fifteen (n=100), Sixteen (n=100) and Seventeen (n=100) according to their age category. Lower back flexibility was measured by sit and reach test using Flexomeasure. Descriptive statistics, one way ANOVA and for pair wise comparison LSD was applied. There was a significant difference between fourteen and seventeen year age group and fifteen and seventeen year age group while there was no significant difference in the remaining age groups. It can be concluded that seventeen age boys have better lower back flexibility than fourteen and fifteen year old school boys. The significant value was set at 0.05. Keywords: Flexibility, sit and reach, Flexomeasure 1. Introduction Flexibility or limberness refers to the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints to induce a bending movement or motion. Flexibility varies between individuals, particularly in terms of differences in muscle length of multi-joint muscles. Gender, age, and genetics are important for range of motion. Each individual is born with a particular range of motion for each joint in their body. In the book Finding Balance by Gigi Berardi, the author mentions three limiting factors: Occupational demands, movement demands and training oversights (Berardi, 2013) [1] . Movement demands include strength, endurance and range of motion. Training oversights occurs when the body is overused (Berardi, 2013) [1] . Many factors are taken into account when establishing personal flexibility: joint structure, ligaments, tendons, muscles, skin, tissue injury, fat (or adipose) tissue, body temperature, activity level, age and gender all influence an individual's range of motion about a joint. Individual body flexibility level is measured and calculated by performing a sit and reach test, where the result is defined as personal flexibility score (Franklin, 2003) [5] . Physical fitness plays an important role in maintaining a good health (Corbin & Pangrazi, 1993) [2] Epidemiologists say that lack of physical fitness is one of the reasons for the increase in childhood obesity in the last two decades. Through standardized physical educational program, physical fitness of the children is regulated. Physical fitness testing is routine component of physical education classes in primary and secondary school. The goals of the physical fitness-testing program are to provide continual monitoring of students fitness levels in targeted grades, to identify a student's weakness and strength so that areas in need of improvement can be seen, and to develop individualised programs (Haskell, Montoye & Orenstein 1985) [6] . One area routinely focused in most fitness tests is flexibility. Adequate flexibility is an important characteristic of physical and health related fitness. Flexibility is described as the ability to move a joint through its complete range of motion. It is the extensibility of muscles as well as the non-contractile tissues such as joint capsule, ligaments, and tendons (Cornbleet & Woolsey 1996) [3] . Importance of flexibility as a component of health-related fitness is related to prevention of orthopedic impairments later in life, especially lower back pain (Ruiz et al., 2009) [10] Inflexible muscle can make the musculotendinous unit susceptible to injury and can also lead to some pathological conditions