08/11/2025
If you’ve been told to stretch tight muscles because you’re in pain, but it keeps making you feel worse, you’re not alone. For hypermobile individuals, stretching has a time and a place, but may not be the best thing for you right now.
Should you stretch if you are hypermobile?
People with hypermobility may feel “tight,” but that sensation is usually the nervous’s system attempt to create tension where stability is lacking. The muscles are working overtime to protect joints that lack structural support. Without learning where your body is in space, will you be stretching the muscle? Or just placing more stress on your joint?
So, what should you do instead?
First, learn proprioception, which is learning where your body is in space. This will allow your body to give yourself feedback while you are moving. You can use self soft tissue mobility techniques to help with the sensation of tightness. From there, support your joints with strength training exericses.
First warming up the tight area with soft tissue mobility, is key to allow the body to be able to calm down the noise of tightness and focus on learning where your body is in space. Following this, targeted strength work helps build the scaffolding your body needs to function efficiently. By training deep stabilizers and improving neuromuscular control, we reduce the load on passive tissues like ligaments. That means fewer subluxations, fewer flare-ups, and more confidence in your body.
If you feel stiff, consider soft tissue mobility and strength training first. A PT who understands hypermobility can guide you through the right movements and help you retrain the nervous system for long-term resilience.
Progressive resistance training, even at a low load, improves joint integrity and decreases the sensation of tightness over time. Movements like dead bugs, bridges, and controlled squats build stability without relying on end-range flexibility. Coupled with proper breathing and alignment cues, these exercises reprogram the nervous system to feel safe, supported, and strong.
The goal of strength training at first is having more control over your body and what is is experiencing with movement. By shifting your mindset from increasing range of motion to enhancing functional strength, you protect your joints and improve your long-term health.
The key is consistency, not intensity. Even 10–15 minutes of strength work a few times per week can make a big difference. With patience, you’ll build strength, reduce pain, and develop confidence in your body’s capacity. Your joints will thank you, and your future self will too.
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