Click on NOTE CATEGORIES to browse by topic, read through the entire archives, or type a topic in the search box.This post was edited February 2020 to update its resources.
"Hypermobility" is a complex phenomenon, explored more deeply in this post on joint hypermobility. But sometimes a visual can make a concept easier to grasp, and sometimes I happen to see something worth filming.
While carrying the other day, I shot a little video of my shoulder (glenohumeral) joint moving relative to itself—a movement that indicates my shoulder ligaments are working more than my shoulder muscles. I don't have any other hypermobile joints; this is one area of joint laxity that has developed over time, due to the way I've used my body.
In this video you'll see how a load I'm carrying (a 21-pound baby) can cause my arm bone to move away from my scapula—applying a tensile load to the ligament instead of the shoulder muscles.
While the phenomenon of hypermobility is complex, the corrective in this case—stabilizing the joint—is fairly simple. Which isn't to say that it's easy. I catch myself mindlessly tossing these ligaments a load a hundred times a day. Still, I can work on my awareness and my muscles and connective tissue one hundred and one times a day and slowly accumulate the benefit of tiny changes.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Which means that a video must be worth a million words. And since thoughts are worth a penny, and thoughts are typically about a hundred and fifty words, this post is clearly worth $66.00. I'll take your payment in kind thoughts or you can donate $66.00 to good times. Either works for me.
Read more on hypermobility: Hypermobility, Hypermobility (and 12 Ways to Stronger, More Stable Shoulders). More on carrying kids: Pain-Free Baby Holding, Carrying Kids and Wrist Pain, More Movement For Kids and Babies.
