Are you a floppy or a stiffy?
By Dr April Patterson
11/11/2019
What is your body type?
Are you generally a hypermobile person? Do your fingers bend back past 90 degrees? Or can you touch your toes with ease?
Flexibility is important to help avoid injury however, too much flexibility predisposes the individual to a long line of factors. Furthermore, stretching can exacerbate this risk.
Our connective tissues (ligaments, blood vessels etc) are made up of a composition of collagen and elastin. Individuals that have a higher level of elastin in their tissues are in turn more flexible, like your favourite pair of stretchy jeans, versus that old rigid tight pair that you wear only when everything else is in the wash.
This increase in “stretchiness” allows your body to move through a larger range of motion and in turn, predisposes an athlete to larger grade injuries. Hypermobility at rest also leads to a higher incidence of poor biomechanics, as there is less passive stability at rest.
Exercise is extremely important for hypermobile people as the muscular system will work to provide stability that is lacking from the connective tissues.
See one of our physiotherapists if you are extra flexi and have pain!
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