Hypermobility Exercises
Patients who have some degree of hypermobility in their joints can often pick up injuries to their spines, hips and shoulders. Such patients benefit from stabilizing their bodies by working on their core muscles and the muscles that control the movement of their shoulders and hips.
Core Stability Exercises
Anyone not familiar with the concept of core stability should take a look at my blog here. Core stability exercises should be done by everyone with hypermobility issues. They directly help stabilise the low back, and also indirectly help stabilise the hips and shoulders.
I would recommend starting with this basic exercise that works the core in a safe, back friendly position. In the video, the exercise is done for 10 seconds at a time, and should be repeated 6 to 10 times. Alternatively, you can do one long hold, keeping your belly button sucked down all the time whilst you breathe slowly in and out, and look towards holding for around 3.5 to 5 minutes.
Once you are comfortable with the basic core stability exercise, three further and slightly more advanced exercises can then be added. These are known as the ‘McGill Big 3’. They are the Curl Up, the Side Plank and the Bird Dog exercises.
2. Hip Stability Exercises
Strengthening the hip rotator cuff can help improve stability, reduce pain, and enhance overall hip function. The following exercises can all be performed with or without resistance bands.
Unless you are already quite strong, I suggest starting without the resistance bands and completing 3 sets of 12 repetitions. When this becomes too easy, start using the resistance bands, working your way through the thicknesses as you become stronger.
The smaller ‘glute bands’ in exercises 1-4, and the resistance band in exercise 5 can all be bought cheaply on Amazon.
3. Shoulder Stability Exercises
Isometrics
The easiest way to begin strengthening your shoulder rotator cuff muscles is to do what is known as isometric exercises. This is where you work your shoulder by pushing against something that doesn’t move, e.g. a wall. The effort should be slow and controlled.
The following video shows how to work all the muscles of the shoulder using different arm positions. To start with, for each different position, use no more than half your strength and maintain the effort for 20-30 seconds, repeating this 3 times. Once this can be performed without any problems the amount of force can be increased to around 70% of your maximum. You should aim to do this 3-6 times a week.
Resistance bands
The rotator cuff muscles can also be strengthened using resistance bands, with the advantage that you can progress through the different thickness of bands as you become stronger.
Weights
If you have already built up your rotator cuff muscle strength using isometrics or resistance bands, some people may want to progress to using light weights, in the form of either dumbbells or cable station work.
Dumbbells can be used to work the external and internal rotator muscles of the shoulder. The external rotator muscles are usually weak in hypermobile people so should be prioritised as they help stabilise the joint.
The same exercises can be done using a cable station set-up found in many gyms
Press Ups
Press ups can also be useful for stabilising the shoulder and scapula, but people with hypermobile shoulders should not initially perform them in the traditional starting position. Instead they should begin with press ups against a wall, and gradually lower their hand position as they become stronger. The video below shows the progression from wall push ups, to traditional push ups.
Finally, as with all the exercises I discuss, if you experience pain, discomfort, increased instability, or unusual symptoms during or after any of these exercises, then stop immediately and seek advice before carrying on with them.
Cliff Russell
Registered Osteopath @ Osteo Studio
