If you Google "mobility," you can find pages upon pages of articles about how to improve your mobility at any given joint. Thoracic mobility, shoulder mobility, ankle mobility, and the like are central themes on fitness blogs all over the internet (mine included). As a trainer, it satisfies me to see so many lifters and colleagues prioritizing the improvement in range of motion. Too much of a good thing can become detrimental, though. Having excessive mobility can be just as injurious as being tight and immobile.
These arrows above represent the stability-mobility continuum. Those who have tissue restrictions have a ton of stability, which those with a plethora of mobility lack. Some individuals, like gymnasts and dancers, fall into the class of "hypermobility." Essentially, they have ligament and tendon laxity, which means that their range of motion exceeds what is common or necessary for most people. This is more common in females than in males, but can be present in both genders.
Genetics and anatomy are going to be the two biggest indicators of where one falls on this continuum. There are, however, ways to improve this. Obviously, despite being born with tight shoulders, it's still possible to loosen up your tissues and become more supple. Conversely, those with joint laxity can do more in the way of strengthening stabilizing muscles in order to become more stable.
In some ways, stretching for someone who is hypermobile could be akin to an athlete with a stress fracture going for a 15 mile run. We want our muscles to flex and extend seamlessly, but hyperextension can be dangerous. Strength coach Eric Cressey notes, "Instead [of stretching them], these individuals need to work on building stability within the ROM they already have with quality strength training."
As an example, let's use the shoulder joint. The shoulders are already the most mobile joint, as they can move through a full 360°. With these great movement demands come tremendous risk, though. While the shoulders are very mobile, they're also one of the most frequently injured areas. A hypermobile client might have an overhead position that resembles that of the woman in the photo on the right. Not only is her lumbar spine in hyperextension, but her shoulder flexion goes well behind her center of mass. Certainly, this position is not ideal for supporting load, as it puts the shoulder girdle under tremendous stress. Now, if this client were to stretch her shoulders before a session, she's just going to further force herself into a precarious position, and she increases her risk of injury. We never want to enforce excess movement in a joint. Each sport and activity places different demands on the joints and tissues, so the goal is to establish enough range of motion for your given sport. No more, no less. A baseball pitcher requires more external rotation at the elbow than the average person needs. Swimmers need flexible shoulders to move freely through the water. Ultimately, you have to find the optimal amount of mobility that will allow you to achieve the necessary positions of what you do. In my case, I was blessed with natural flexibility, so I spend very little time doing accessory mobility work.
There's no need to spend time forcing an end range that you don't need, and it may even be counterproductive. Choose your mobility work wisely, picking exercises that apply to the areas with which you need the most help. The movement requirements of an athlete of one sport aren't going to be the same for another. Some sports benefit from decreased mobility, while others require extreme bendiness: find the optimal area for you on the stability-mobility continuum!
Works Cited:
- Hootman, Jennifer M, Randall Dick, and Julie Agel. “Epidemiology of Collegiate Injuries for 15 Sports: Summary and Recommendations for Injury Prevention Initiatives.” Journal of Athletic Training 42.2 (2007): 311–319. Print.
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