Many approaches to hypermobile rehab focus on building muscle tissue around joints to stabilise them. However, this often leaves out a large part to the puzzle! Read More
To build muscle tissue, you need to overload the tissue with sufficient weight to break down and create new muscle tissue. But with unstable joints, you’re not able to use that amount of weight, and it can potentially cause injuries, as many people with hypermobility often find.
People who go this route often end up with superficial strength, strong on the outside but lacking any fundamental stability. It’s like firing a rocket launcher from a rowing boat – there’s power, but no real foundation.
Additionally, even with prime testosterone levels, the average male can only put on around 8-10 lbs of muscle tissue per year, body-wide and for biological females, that figure is even less.
So then, why do some people with hypermobility, who do have large amounts of musculature, still dislocate?
Well, it’s because muscle tissue is only one part of the equation to joint stability.
Proprioception, your brains ability to know where your joints are in space and time, is the effect of many systems working together, and good stable movement is largely unconscious. Likewise, as paradigms shift, the research now shows that issues like proprioception, are vitally important in helping to stabilise hypermobile joints.
This is why when we work with our hypermobile clients, we look to these principals, focusing on good cortical representation of your joints, targeted proprioceptive movements, and relearning how to use those joints, helping to predict what force is incoming and how to react to it.
We take into account the complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors that influence a person’s experience of pain. We use a biopsychosocial approach to helping our clients and call these factors your BPS bubbles. Read More
The Biological bubble includes physical factors such as genetics, sleep, joint mechanics, medical conditions, nociceptive threshold, hormones, and more that may be contributing to a person’s pain.
The Psychological bubble consists of factors such as past traumas, coping skills, beliefs, emotions, anxiety, and other psychological elements that can compound the issue.
The Social bubble considers factors such as support networks, work and home environment, cultural or societal factors, and other social aspects that can impact a person’s health.
While other rehab programs may often rely solely on external “catalysts,” our framework recognises that these interventions may only be effective if a person’s BPS bubbles are set up in a specific way, as current research suggests.
For example, a person with chronic back pain may try various exercises, but if they have factors in their bubbles that clash with the input of exercise, such as low tissue tolerance, poor oxygenation, or potentially issues like kinesiophobia, then exercise will not help with their pain. However, this does not mean that exercise will not help another person with different BPS bubbles. BPS bubbles are the reason why treatment often works for one person but not others, and by using BPS bubbles we aim to mitigate this as much as possible.
We work with you to identify the underlying contributing factors in your BPS bubbles, rather than chasing symptoms or trying various exercises or methods that may or may not align with the client’s bubbles. By addressing a person’s BPS bubbles through a combination of targeted interventions and education, our aim is to give you the tools to focus on health in the right areas.
