Just hypermobility?

[gcoe]

*I first spend between 30 – 45 minutes of the recumbent bike.

This is good. Keeping your aerobic fitness up is really important.

*I do weights on the machines (very low weights, I have built up very little strength. I saw a personal trainer who helped me figure out the proper use and advised me to stay within 70% of my range of motion -or I seem to hyperextend certain movements. I don’t feel I’ve gotten any stronger over the last year and have only increased weight by 5%. Every time I try I pull a muscle.)

Weights should be good in theory. The most likely reason you are not building up strength is that the weight intensity is too low. If you want to strengthen things you have to be in the range of 8-12 reps where on the last rep you really can't do much more. HOWEVER if you are having so many problems this may not be feasible and I would be guided by your physio and personal trainer. Have you discussed your lack of progress with your weights?

*Core exercises (my physio has sent me to a pilates school, where we do very careful core work, so I spend about 10 minutes doing some core exercises.

This is good! Should be helpful

*stretches (basic for all muscles).

So are you doing these at the end of your exercise session? You probably should be going very easy on them just relaxing into the stretch and maintaining the stretch for 30 sec or so. You probably don't want to be over stretching.

As an afterthought, given that you have generalised hypermobility there is a group of conditions called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I am not saying you have this but as you are having so many problems this might be worth getting checked out medically.

Also: do have a think about the Feldenkrais/Alexander idea

[roycar]

hi there.

I also am "hypermobile". I was diagnosed with "joint hypermobility syndrome" by a rheumatologist a couple of years ago. I said"what can I do to get rid of the pain?" His answer? "Exercise!"

Very vague do you think?

I've suffered with aches and pains throughtout my various joints and loads and loads of injuries over the years. As I was growing up I always seemed to be injured and sore etc while all my friends never had any trouble. Generally I'nm able to control/manage my aches and pains and I've only really had one "bad" injury that I could connect to my hypermobility (tore my acl).

i agree with gcoe regarding posture and body awareness. if there was one thing that i would tell you to focus on this would be it. hypermobile people tend to have quite poor posture, slumped with a forward neck, this is the body's attempt to find some degree of stability where it hangs off the hypermobile ligaments. with this you have a lot of muscular imbalances where there are some muscles that are tight and strong and others are long and weak. generally your "postural" muscles are weak and poorly active. By postural muscles I mean the muscles that should be active all the time, working in the background to try to keep your body in a decent allignment. retraining these is the starting point of rehab for someone who is hypermobile. this doesnt just apply to your "core". it should also involve your shoulder, hip, knee etc.training should start statically and pregress as appropriate to dynamic activites.

obviously structures that are tight should be stretched, structures that are weak should be strengthened but the important part is the assessment to understand what needs what done. a biomechanical assessment may help if hypermobility in the foot leads to poor control when walking/running/dancing.

you cant cure hypermobility but you can certainly go some way to managing it. i still have aches and pains from time to time but i'm aware of why im sore and this helps me to deal with it. i play football rugby etc. i know im at more of a risk of injury because im hypermobile and i've inherently poor body awareness but i love sport so im not gonna give it up! improving your body awareness and general joint and body stability takes time and is an ongoing process. you wont get to a level where you can just stop. you'll have to continue with your "rehab" indefinitely but you should be able to dance etc. i have had the luxury of learning from a physio who was qite experienced in this condition so if you can find someone who has a background in it you may get more from it.

i hope all goes well. try not to lose heart.

[Coley6]

Thank you both for your replies! They've both given me some questions to discuss with my physiotherapist.

I talked to my physio about my lack of progress with weight training two weeks ago, and she suggested 'pyramid' training. This is going well for my leg muscles, I think they are actually getting a bit stronger! My shoulder doesnt like it, so I'll just keep doing what I can so that it doesn't lose any strength.

I will keep up with my daily exercise. I had to skip dance tonight, my calf is in a lot of pain from my last session, so I thought I'd better not overdo it and just use the bike tonight. I really love my dancing and do not want to give it up. I have a competition May 16 that I hope I can do!!

I typically hold my stretches for about a minute. I certainly have a difficult time knowing if I am stretching it too hard (over-stretcing). I'll try to be a bit more careful. I do my stretches right after my workout.

As far as rehab goes, do either of you have any idea on how long I should be continuing physio? I'm embarrased, it seems like my physio helps fix one problem, then another occurs and I have to go back. I don't want to be a burden to my physio, but she always treats me and says it's appropriate to come. I just feel like I might have to go forever. I don't have any friends with a similar issue who never get discharged from physio. gcoe - have you ever had patients who have similar issues and are always returning?

Thanks again for all your help, I've felt very lost with all this until now.

[oceanid]

Hi,

I am also diagnosed with hypermobile joints. I'm a student studying in canada and the doctor also recommanded exercise to improve the muscle tone.

I tried jogging for a start... But kept twisting my ankle {not badly that I cant walk hmmm around 5-20 minutes later} or I'll trip and fall etc. What worries me the most it that my joints at my shoulder keeps sub-laxting out of the sockets.

I am curious since you all seem to know the best course of action as you either deals with people with this disorder of also have this condition. What kind of exercises and programs should I go for to increase the muscle tone overall?

Please let me know.

Thanks

[Coley6]

Hi there,

I've learned a ton in the last year about hypermobility etc. so just as a patient I thought I'd let you know what's keeping me (somewhat) together!

I've found that exercises that have low impact on your joints (recumbant bike, elliptical and even walking) have been a good way for me to maintain my physical activity and avoid pain and injury. I also do weight training on the machines. I like this instead of free weights because I found that it reduced my injuries. I really don't push it as far as weights go, I increase the weight slowly or I find I sublux my shoulders or hurt my back. And stretching...so important. I had a physio teach me how to do everything properly as I don't have great body awareness. I also use the mirrors a lot at the gym to see what my body is actually doing so I can correct the problem. I do pilates once a week which has been awesome for building core strength. I do some of the exercises at my daily workout to maintain the strength.

I've found that I just have to exercise carefully and really think about what I'm doing. It has taken a long time but I am finally building strength without constantly injuring myself. It was looking so bleak a year ago when I just kept injuring & reinjuring. I've realised that it is a lifelong commitment to a balanced workout program. Seriously, just keep moving in any way you can!

[oceanid]

Hi,

thanks for replying. Does pilates really helps with this?? What about yoga?? Would it be advisable to join martial arts? I always wanted to learn a little of martial arts.. However due to obvious reasons I have never attempted to do so.

Do your joints also like.. erm.. progressively sublux? Few years back only my right shoulder subluxed {which can be both involuntary or on voluntary basis} However.. This past few years, I also noticed that my left shoulder begin to sublux {involuntarily}.

Is there any dietary things that we should take more/less that could help with this?

[Coley6]

I don't think martial arts are a great idea. I did taekwondo with our Brownies (girl guides) a few weeks ago and imaginary punching really hurt my neck and shoulder. I think it might be too much impact. However, if you are very aware of what your body can do it might be ok (if you are quite careful).

I'm just getting into yoga. I think again we must be careful as to not bend our joints in all sorts of weird ways. I've had instructors that encourage this because they think you are just flexible, but you could be making it worse. Ive done a few sessions and I like the stretching because I actually have really high muscle tone and spasms, so stretching for me is always helpful. Pilates is great - again watch that you don't overdo it or go outside a normal range of motion. But strengthening your core is your best way to help the rest of your body build strength and stability.

I have the exact same problem with my shoulders! My right subluxes all the time and now my left is starting to act up and do the same! It's so frustrating. Though I have built a bit of strength this last year which i think is helping. It just sucks for trying to sleep. I can't sleep on either side!

Nutrition - omega 3 (fish oil capsules) were recommended as they help with lubricating the joints (apparently). I've been taking promega every day as i don't eat fish. I was also told to get adequate protein and make sure to eat lots of fruits and vegetables! I think overall good nutrition just gives a solid foundation for a body that is constantly trying to heal itself!

[oceanid]

Wow.. Glad to know that someone knows exactly whats going on and how it feels like!

I think the most problematic ones are mainly my shoulder, elbow {VERY hypermobile} and ankles mainly.. Do you also get a snapping sound when u move certain joints? Like the wrist and ankles? I never had that on my wrist till very very recently {past few months} but I dont think that my wrist and hands are hypermobile.. I cant touch my arm with my thumb and all..

Thanks for your advises! Will look into going into pilates.. I tried a version once.. but it was a mixture of yoga and pilates.. Kinda costly to take up the classes though.. Hmm..