loose joints and tight muscle bellies?

[Mandie]

I just saw a client around 17 yr old that has studied ballet for many years until 2 years ago. She has played tennis and now runs.
Her complaint is tension/pain accross the low back area (when she shows the area, she runs her hands accross along the saccrum, superior edge of hip bone).
I worked doing cross-fiber and then Stweart Taws/Micheal Young stretches.
What I noticed was that gastrocs, hamstrings and specially gluteous were very tight on the belly of the muscles. At the same time it feels like the joints are almost too loose.

Anybody has had that kind of experience and have any suggestions?

 

[Tanya]

It sounds like your client has hypermobile joints. (What they used to call double-jointed when I was a kid). A lot of people, including myself, have this. Tension never resides in my joints -- always my muscles. The protocol I recommend is to release the muscular tension, but also recommend strengthening exercises to help stabilize the joints. Tennis & running are more aerobic than strength-building and can lead to joint trouble in the hips, knees & ankles for people with very flexible joints. Since she's a former ballet dancer, pilates would probably suit her body type very well. If she can afford it, I would recommend she have a personal trainer set up a routine for her that she can then follow on her own after a few coaching sessions. Another option is to refer her to a Physical Therapist who can set up a more traditional strength-building routine to help strengthen the muscles that stabilize her joints.

Massage is still important for her. I've heard some Massage Therapists say you shouldn't release tension in hypermobile people because it will destabilize their joints ever further. I completely disagree. Muscle tension does NOT equal muscle strength. Trigger points in my body can cause just as much pain & dysfunction as trigger points in someone with tight joints. That tension does need to addressed & released.

Hope that helps!

 

[Paradise Regained]

thank you for your response.

I agree with you about the need to work the muscles and not focus on the joints. Thank you for the suggestion of pilates. I will pass it to her.

I was also interested in knowing if you have any suggestions of massage techniques to use.

 

[karatekid224]

Use the same massage techniques on her that you'd use on your other clients. There isn't one technique that's best for hypermobile clients as a group. Tension is tension. Try different techniques & see which work best for her. My only recommendation is for you to be careful with stretches. Be sure she feels the stretch in the muscles and not the joints.

Best wishes!