Hypermobility and lifting

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hyIianprincess
hyIianprincess Posts: 302 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is anyone else hypermobile and lifting weights? I met with a physical therapist a few months back since my joints dislocate daily. (specifically my shoulders and hips) He said I was hypermobile and if I strengthened the muscles, it might help with the dislocations. I'm finding it pretty hard though as it leaves my joints really sore and tender. Even before I started incorporating weights in my routine, my body weight alone would irritate the joints and leave them sore for most of the day, if not days after.

I have arthritis on top of this but the soreness is a completely different feeling.. I really don't want to stop lifting. Does anyone have any tips?

Replies

  • MedeaKay
    MedeaKay Posts: 17 Member
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    Hello! I am hypermobile as well, and have recently started strength training. It really does help, since building muscle around the joints, as well as other places in the body helps to stabilize them.

    But if your routine is leaving your joints sore, that does not sound right. Did your physical therapist give you specific instructions on what muscles to work and how? Did he make sure to watch your form and correct any mistakes that you were making? Mine worked with me for over 2 months to be sure that I was doing everything right.

    One thing that you really need to focus on heavily, is engaging your core while you work out. You need to engage those muscles before you begin a set, and make sure they stay that way until the end of it.

    It is also helpful to incorporate strengthening of the core muscles into your routine. I have a hard time doing any body weight exercises, so I use the machines at the gym. I do back extensions and assisted crunches.

    Also, there are strength exercises you can do where the joints don't move. Maybe you need to begin with some of those, until you gain more muscle.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    I'm hypermobile and strength training makes an enormous difference to my joint stability.
  • hyIianprincess
    hyIianprincess Posts: 302 Member
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    MedeaKay wrote: »
    Hello! I am hypermobile as well, and have recently started strength training. It really does help, since building muscle around the joints, as well as other places in the body helps to stabilize them.

    But if your routine is leaving your joints sore, that does not sound right. Did your physical therapist give you specific instructions on what muscles to work and how? Did he make sure to watch your form and correct any mistakes that you were making? Mine worked with me for over 2 months to be sure that I was doing everything right.

    One thing that you really need to focus on heavily, is engaging your core while you work out. You need to engage those muscles before you begin a set, and make sure they stay that way until the end of it.

    It is also helpful to incorporate strengthening of the core muscles into your routine. I have a hard time doing any body weight exercises, so I use the machines at the gym. I do back extensions and assisted crunches.

    Also, there are strength exercises you can do where the joints don't move. Maybe you need to begin with some of those, until you gain more muscle.

    Yes, I saw him once a week for about two months. He felt I was good enough to continue on my own. I'm following a print out he gave me with some resistance bands. And thank you for the tip! I'll make sure to do that my next workout and look into exercises that don't require joint movement.
    CollieFit wrote: »
    I'm hypermobile and strength training makes an enormous difference to my joint stability.

    It's really encouraging to hear that it's helped both of you! I guess I'll just have to stick with it. The pain isn't unbearable. It's more annoying than anything.
  • SwimmyD
    SwimmyD Posts: 96 Member
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    Lifting weights will most definitely help with hyper mobility and help prevent arthritis from getting worse or setting in too early (depends on whether you have a connective tissue disorder or if it's a benign hypermobility). It's something that you should keep up for the rest of your life, because it protects your joints from abnormal stresses in every day motions. I do my routine at least three days a week, and have done so for over twenty years. I am very prone to injury if I don't.

    It's important to always lift with very good form and good wrist/shoulder/elbow positions to avoid strain. Same for the hip/knee position. You want to avoid starting a lift in any hyper-extended position, and not take on so much weight that you have joint pain or feel clicking or sliding as you are doing it. I'm surprised your joints are actually hurting. It may be you have too much resistance you're trying to push through? Go back to the physio if you are unsure.

    If you are just doing theraband it may be worth switching to smaller free weights because as the theraband gets really taught, the resistance really goes up in the last third of the motion. A free weight will remain the same resistance throughout. You want to do a lot of scapular retraining so that your rotator cuff can do a better job of stabilizing the shoulders. Good luck!
  • hyIianprincess
    hyIianprincess Posts: 302 Member
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    SwimmyD wrote: »
    Lifting weights will most definitely help with hyper mobility and help prevent arthritis from getting worse or setting in too early (depends on whether you have a connective tissue disorder or if it's a benign hypermobility). It's something that you should keep up for the rest of your life, because it protects your joints from abnormal stresses in every day motions. I do my routine at least three days a week, and have done so for over twenty years. I am very prone to injury if I don't.

    It's important to always lift with very good form and good wrist/shoulder/elbow positions to avoid strain. Same for the hip/knee position. You want to avoid starting a lift in any hyper-extended position, and not take on so much weight that you have joint pain or feel clicking or sliding as you are doing it. I'm surprised your joints are actually hurting. It may be you have too much resistance you're trying to push through? Go back to the physio if you are unsure.

    If you are just doing theraband it may be worth switching to smaller free weights because as the theraband gets really taught, the resistance really goes up in the last third of the motion. A free weight will remain the same resistance throughout. You want to do a lot of scapular retraining so that your rotator cuff can do a better job of stabilizing the shoulders. Good luck!

    I'm not sure whether it's a connective tissue disorder or not. I'm supposed to be tested for EDS, but I have no idea how to go about doing that. Are the weights you're lifting heavy? I'm lifting light dumbbells right now (5 pounds) but I'd love to eventually lift heavier if my body allows

    My joints often click/slide even when I'm not exercising so I'm not sure. I actually had to stop doing yoga for that reason. I'll definitely check back with my physio. I've always dealt with loose joints, but I feel like it's getting progressively worse. Thank you so much for the tips! I really appreciate it.
  • SwimmyD
    SwimmyD Posts: 96 Member
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    Hi, a referral to a rheumatologist will rule out a connective tissue disorder. A genetic counsellor does genetic testing but that's a more roundabout route. It sounds like you've already been diagnosed with arthritis so the rheumatologist is the best bet. Was it an orthopaedic physician who diagnosed you? He/she can do the appropriate referrals.

    Lifting small weights in a pain free range is a good idea for now, until you get more information about your condition, especially if you have EDS. Your physio *should* know all about this, and should be able to guide you on what is safe for you now, and also in the future. It's better to be safe and lift small weights and have stronger joints than lift big weights and screw them up.

    My shoulder weights vary from 3 to 5 lbs, and I lift 10 for biceps curls and supine chest presses. Going over is asking for trouble. My leg weights are at 2.5 to 3 lbs. I swim three times a week and I walk three times a week too. No pounding activities for me!
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    I'm hypermobile and most definitely lift. For me, my ligaments are super lax naturally when my tendons are normal. Just being aware of the hypermobility has helped a lot. Knowing not to reach out to grab something to avoid dislocating your elbow helps. And the stronger I make the muscles and tendons the better my joints feel.

    I have restrictions. I'm not allowed to stretch except for the tight axis of my lower cross syndrome and my back. But other than that, I'm free to do what I want.
  • hyIianprincess
    hyIianprincess Posts: 302 Member
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    SwimmyD wrote: »
    Hi, a referral to a rheumatologist will rule out a connective tissue disorder. A genetic counsellor does genetic testing but that's a more roundabout route. It sounds like you've already been diagnosed with arthritis so the rheumatologist is the best bet. Was it an orthopaedic physician who diagnosed you? He/she can do the appropriate referrals.

    Lifting small weights in a pain free range is a good idea for now, until you get more information about your condition, especially if you have EDS. Your physio *should* know all about this, and should be able to guide you on what is safe for you now, and also in the future. It's better to be safe and lift small weights and have stronger joints than lift big weights and screw them up.

    My shoulder weights vary from 3 to 5 lbs, and I lift 10 for biceps curls and supine chest presses. Going over is asking for trouble. My leg weights are at 2.5 to 3 lbs. I swim three times a week and I walk three times a week too. No pounding activities for me!

    I've been seeing the same rheumatologist for years, but he's never said anything about it. He's the one who referred me to the physical therapist in the first place actually. My primary is the one who said I should look into it so I feel a bit lost. Maybe I'll bring it up at my next appointment with my rheumatologist.

    My weights range from 2-5lbs so I think I'll stick with those until I know more, like you said. Thanks for the input!
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I have to wear support on various joints and that works well for me most of the time. But yours sound like places that are hard (impossible?) to support. That sucks. The only additional things I can think of are: don't stretch beforehand at all, and maybe try your heavier lifts using a small range of motion.

    I do better with heavier weights vs lots of reps, because inflammation seems to be my lax connective tissue's biggest problem, and I get that the more repetitive things are. But my kneecaps are mobile enough that they do move out of place too much, so no heavy weight there at all in most positions. Since your parts are dislocating, I would stick with lighter weights, yeah!

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