The dominant trend is lack of mobility

With sedentary lifestyles becoming more and more common, the corresponding lessening of mobility in the populace is not surprising. But about 10% of the population suffer from the exact opposite problem- hypermobility, also known as double-jointedness. People with this condition have ligamentous laxity which can be useful for someone whose job requires a greater degree of flexibility, like a dancer or a baseball pitcher. But there are significant drawbacks to hypermobility in that your joints are essentially less stable. When this lack of stability contributes to pain, we call it hypermobility syndrome. And this pain can become chronic. So what is our solution for hypermobility syndrome? 

Hypermobility can breed stiffness

It seems contradictory- how can a condition that relates to over-flexibility also lead to stiffness? Well when your body senses that you will hurt yourself because of the hypermobility, it will create stiffness, inflammation and pain as a way of warning you, slowing you down and protecting itself. This pain can become chronic in nature and cause serious joint dysfunction. Most people in this situation would stretch in order to reduce tension and tightness and restore range of motion; but for people with hypermobility, stretching can be counterproductive. The range of motion is already there- we need to focus on stabilizing it through sustainable strength training. 

Hypermobility needs to be diagnosed

We meet with so many people who are unaware of their hypermobility and how it is affecting their lives. Many of them may have been misdiagnosed in the past, leading to serious complications in the present. At our office in Fremont, we perform a full diagnostic assessment to determine whether hypermobility is causing your pain and dysfunction. From here, we work together to create an individualized plan for treatment that will strengthen the support network surrounding the joint capsule, thereby stabilizing your range of motion and preventing pain. Give our office in Fremont a call to schedule an appointment today.