Hypermobility. The ability of an individual’s connective tissues to bend and lock in a wider range than usually should is actually quite common, we may know this condition informally as double-jointedness. Hypermobility and muscle flexibility is estimated to affect around 10% of the population with women being three times more likely to be affected. First off hypermobility and flexibility are different and can easily be confused with each other or as the same thing because they are closely related in most cases.
Flexibility in reality refers just to our muscles, how easily they relax and bend and
tense up at the right time. Hypermobility on the other hand enters riskier territories and affects the connective tissues. Although overly worrying about things are never good, you should double check on the health of your ligaments, tendons, the “cartilage-y” tissues that take care of the joints, they are the last set of bodyguards for joints and are not supposed to extend really, because when they do they never go back to their original length. This is not the scariest thing in the world, you can still be physically strong and successful at physical feats, just don’t abuse stretching already stretched out joints and please do stretch for your muscles to strengthen, relax and ease tenseness.
Include all your muscles to work and not just your joints cushioning all the force
since that is not enough and can result in further medical injury, this is when pain
becomes repetitive and you may start hearing clicking sounds, sometimes with a
popping pain and sometimes not. Joint hypermobility can be genetic too, don’t get too paranoid with playing with your joints as long as you make sure of their health.
You can always easily make up for these ligament rips while they are not serious and require professional medical attention. Exercise and exercise properly, push yourself a little bit more to stretch out and tone and lift other parts and muscle groups you know need some shaping up. When one is hypermobile or naturally flexible it’s tempting to stretch for show, this is not bad but when you hurt yourself it’s both painful and embarrassing. Diet properly, yes you already know this just reminding you.
So you wouldn’t risk injury and aching strains make sure to stretch properly in all
parts, all muscles and not just joints. Remember tense muscles can create the illusion of being flexible, by being tense too long and the body stretched improperly this result in the connective tissue systems being torn and slowly sunken in.
Supplements for joint and cartilage strength are fine if from a trusted source. These pills are very helpful if you don’t get your required collagen and calcium fix in your foods but getting nutrients from whole foods is much better and more effective. Good milk, proper amount of protein, fiber and the cartilage from meats if you’re not vegetarian should be more considered and of course calcium is found in leafy greens too, along with whole fish.
Stretching is not enough, with all the protein you just ingested it would be a good idea to tone up and try planks and intense yoga stretches and locks to build muscle while relaxing them more under pressure. Then move on to light weights and experiment with workout routines that combine everything you need in a shorter amount of time. This will make anyone with nearly any condition stronger and more flexible, being both will make you less susceptible to joint injuries. Knee, ankle, shoulder pain and any kind of that pain shouldn’t be normal and even if your diet it pretty healthy, a huge lack of exercise will catch up with you fast.
So love your muscles so they love your connective tissues which will love your joints! Hooray for joint health! Don’t skip on checkups as well.
