Kim Nartker is a movement-health pioneer who has spent more than 20 years in the physical therapy field, only to discover the truth most of us were never taught: stiffness and tightness are not aging; they are early signs of joint decline.
After decades of working inside traditional healthcare, Kim realized there was a massive gap between what the system treated and what people actually needed. Science clearly showed a different story about movement health, nervous system protection, and joint mobility, yet no clinical model addressed it.
So she built one.
Through years of research, testing, and hands-on work with thousands of clients, Kim developed the Flexibility Health Test, the first assessment designed to identify joints that are in a protected, declining state—long before pain shows up. This decline in joint flexibility is the missing biomarker in movement health and the root cause of the stiffness, tightness, and early degeneration that millions silently struggle with.
Today, Kim teaches people that tightness isn’t “normal aging.” It’s a signal, just like the check-engine light in your car. And ignoring it sets you on a predictable path toward dysfunction, compensation, degeneration, and mobility loss.
Her mission is simple:
To help people restore their flexibility at the source, protect their joints for life, and expand their healthspan—not just their lifespan.
On this podcast, Kim brings her expertise, her honesty, and her passion for human movement to help you understand what’s really happening inside your body… and what you can do today to move younger, longer.
And for movement professionals who want to change lives the way she does, Kim also offers the Stretch Mobility Coach™ Certification, a complete training pathway rooted in The Stretch Method® that teaches providers how to identify, reset, and restore flexibility health in their own clients.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kim Nartker is a movement-health pioneer who has spent more than 20 years in the physical therapy field, only to discover the truth most of us were never taught: stiffness and tightness are not aging; they are early signs of joint decline.
After decades of working inside traditional healthcare, Kim realized there was a massive gap between what the system treated and what people actually needed. Science clearly showed a different story about movement health, nervous system protection, and joint mobility, yet no clinical model addressed it.
So she built one.
Through years of research, testing, and hands-on work with thousands of clients, Kim developed the Flexibility Health Test, the first assessment designed to identify joints that are in a protected, declining state—long before pain shows up. This decline in joint flexibility is the missing biomarker in movement health and the root cause of the stiffness, tightness, and early degeneration that millions silently struggle with.
Today, Kim teaches people that tightness isn’t “normal aging.” It’s a signal, just like the check-engine light in your car. And ignoring it sets you on a predictable path toward dysfunction, compensation, degeneration, and mobility loss.
Her mission is simple:
To help people restore their flexibility at the source, protect their joints for life, and expand their healthspan—not just their lifespan.
On this podcast, Kim brings her expertise, her honesty, and her passion for human movement to help you understand what’s really happening inside your body… and what you can do today to move younger, longer.
And for movement professionals who want to change lives the way she does, Kim also offers the Stretch Mobility Coach™ Certification, a complete training pathway rooted in The Stretch Method® that teaches providers how to identify, reset, and restore flexibility health in their own clients.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I dive into something most people — and even our healthcare system — overlook: flexibility as a true biomarker of aging and movement health. I share why flexibility isn’t just about touching your toes or feeling loose after a stretch, but a measurable indicator of how well your body is aging.
I’ll break down the science behind healthy flexibility, why it starts at the bone-and-socket joint (not just the muscles), and how your nervous system silently protects you — often long before you ever feel pain or stiffness. You’ll learn why traditional stretching often fails, the shocking research on how much stretching it actually takes to change muscle function, and how MAP Testing can reveal whether your flexibility is truly healthy.
If you’ve been wondering why you’re losing mobility, struggling to hit fitness goals after 40, or looking for a career path that helps people improve their movement for the long term, this conversation will change the way you think about flexibility forever.
-----------
↗️ Click here to join our PTA Skool and get the FREE course: https://www.skool.com/the-stretch-mobility-coach-4630/about
⬇️ Download my Free Book on how a PTA can advance your career, "The Stretch Beyond PT"
👉🏻 $47 How to Go Solo without a PT Course
Did you enjoy this episode? Please share it on your Instagram account and tag me @KimNartker
Thank you for supporting the show!
Additional Resources
📸 Find Me On Instagram @KimNartker
👍 Follow Me on FB https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.swain1/
🌏 Website: https://kimnartker.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.