Hypermobility vs Flexibility
Some may know I am the mum of 2 hypermobile kids - hypermobile Ehlers Danlos. My own curse as well.
My daughter also loves to dance, she goes three times a week alongside just starting gymnastics as well. But guess what…………she still, at 7yrs old, cannot do a cartwheel and she can’t do the splits! She struggles with her bridges and a few other moves as well.
How can this be if she’s hypermobile?? Yes, everyone asks me that! but lets be clear…
HYPERMOBILITY DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUAL FLEXIBILITY.
Anyone whose joints feel unstable will get this, I mean if you feel your joint is unstable and painful, why would you put it in a position that would allow this pain and possible dislocation to happen.
Hypermobility is when lax ligaments (less tension) allow our joints to move beyond their usual range of motion - so they move more or bigger than they actually should. Ligaments are tough, fibrous bands connecting bone-bone and giving our joints stability. Due to this increased movement the surrounding soft tissues have to work harder to try and stabilise the joint - it just doesn’t get a break, trying to do its usual jobs and then trying to stabilise the joint as well. All this can lead to pain, fatigue and injury.
Flexibility is the ability of muscles to stretch.
So why aren’t all hypermobile people contortionists?
As said above joint hypermobility is due to lax ligaments, flexibility comes from our muscles. If our joints are hypermobile, our muscles may in fact become tight to help protect the hypermobile joint - it’s a defence mechanism to keep the joint safe. So, we need to work on improving strength before we can start improving flexibility.
so that explains the splits… but what about her cartwheels, bridges and other moves? Well…..these require strength and co-ordination.
When our joints have an increased range of motion our body can struggle to sense where our joints are (proprioception), this can lead to poor balance and co-ordination, which in turn can show as clumsiness. Motor skills can also be reduced.
Hypermobility can also be associated with low (muscular) tone. Cartwheels and bridges need a good amount of strength, control and co-ordination - everything a hypermobile individual may struggle with!
She’ll get there it just sometimes takes more time! (and muscle memory but that’s for next time)
The usual disclaimer - I have tried to make this simple and may have missed out some info, it’s a snippet of my life with my family. If you feel you or someone you know suffers with hypermobility then ensure you seek correct medical advice
