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Hypermobile? 5 Exercise Safety Tips

On Fitness Integrated Science TV, we give careful attention to offer modifications for every exercise. No two people are the same. We all have different abilities, ranges and skills when it comes to exercise execution. Some people are tight and stiff, while others are naturally flexible. When dealing with excessive mobility, injury is a commonplace.

What is joint hypermobility? Hypermobility happens when your joints are looser than those of the average person. This condition goes by other medical names like joint laxity, ligamentous laxity and generalized joint hypermobility syndrome. A weak joint can cause your surrounding muscles to fatigue, become strained and start to hurt – the stronger the muscles, the longer it takes for them to wear out. It might feel like the joint itself is in pain when it’s actually your muscles that need help. Here are some tips on taking care of yourself during exercise:

1. Stay Engaged Throughout

Never allow yourself to "relax into something" passively.  Make sure to engage the very muscles that are performing the joint action.  If you are unable to tighten your muscles, you may be going too far.  Hypermobile individuals tend to have a lot more passive range of motion available than active, since active range of motion requires a contraction of the muscular system in order to move and stabilize joints.  

2. Limit Your Range of Motion

Range of motion is dictated by anything that affects the joint/muscle relationship. In hypermobile people, joint range of motion tends to be extremely unstable, as actual muscle contractions are not creating the excessive motion they display.  Therefore, it is crucial to learn how to control and limit your range of motion to prevent ligament strain and joint capsule damage.

3. Consider Isometric Exercises First

Isometrics are a great way for hypermobile individuals to approach exercise.  Isometric exercises are the ones where the muscle is activated by holding it at constant length while producing a static contraction with no movement of the joint.  An Isometric contraction proves to be a great method to establish a connection between the brain and the muscular system, providing a sense of stability in the joint.

4. Strengthen Surrounding Muscles

Take a full-body approach to resistance training.  At any given point in time, the targeted muscles are assisted by synergistic muscles and complemented by antagonist muscles.  Muscles need to be able to move as well as stabilize joints at any given point in time.  When muscles are unable to stabilize joints due to hypermobility and lack of strength, many experience chronic pain.  

5. Progress Slowly

The golden rule which hypermobile individuals must follow is “don’t train to fatigue.” The more tired the muscles get, the less they can stabilize. Instead of pushing the number of reps to grow your limits, the focus should be on quality over quantity.  Take your time and pay attention to what your body is telling you.

Want to learn how to strengthen your muscles safely without straining the joints? FIS TV has hundreds of workouts and therapeutic routines to help you uncover positional weaknesses and safely address muscular dysfunction with progressive strength training. We will show you how to perform isolated and integrated isometric exercises and to help reduce joint pain and instability, such as our very popular "Isometric Boost" collection!