(Aw I’m glad you asked!) I mean both really, but the thing I was most excited about was finding a position I could actually stretch in!
I’m hyperextenable, which means that my tendons (and all other sorts of connective tissue) are very loose, long, and flexible.
Because of this I cannot stretch to get rid of cramps or aches.
Today was the first time in my life that I managed to “feel the burn” of stretching when I found a position that worked (for a short time) to let me do so.
The best example I can offer is with arms:
For most folks their arm can only go as far as their tendons (etc) will allow them to, and once their tendons are at their limit they can’t extend their elbow any further. Extending it any more would at first lead to stretching, and then to serious tears in their tissue.
For me, my tendons don’t restrict my movement at all because they’re so loose. When I extend my arm it only stops when the joint in my elbow cannot move any more because the bones are pressed up against one another. This makes it look like my arm is ‘backwards’ when it’s fully extended.
I can’t stretch because it is physically impossible for me to get into poses that allow my tendons to extend to their full length unless I break my bones. The pose I found this morning that stretched my shoulder for a few moments was extremely difficult to get in to, and put enough pressure on the area that I was worried about dislocating something as it was.
(The angle I’ve shown for my arm below is very accurate. I won’t be posting actual pictures of my arm like that.)
[I’m using ‘tendons’ as an umbrella term to save space, but this applies to all of my various connective tissues.]
My connective tissues are so loose that my joints can become misaligned,
or in some cases dislocated or broken, incredibly easily.
[This section contains descriptions of body horror.]
I’ve had many, many problems because of this, and it’s gotten worse over the years. When I was younger I was trying to do a handstand and, rather than keeping my elbows out, I locked my arms with my elbows extended as shown above. Because all my weight was resting on my elbows, and that weight was being pulled straight down, and my elbows were so seriously angled, my left elbow broke and snapped completely backwards.
The strangest thing was the sensation and sound beforehand: I heard a crack like a tree being suddenly split, and then a moment later I felt the upper section of my elbow joint shift in a collapse down beside the lower section, and then suddenly I was on the floor and the back of my hand was touching my shoulderblade. That was actually the third time I broke that arm, but the other times
weren’t so related to my hyperextendability. By then the nerves in my
elbow were pretty numb to that kind of pain, though it still definitely
hurt.
[End of body horror section.]
I’ve had to become my
own expert at realigning my elbows and knees so that I don’t injure
myself going about my day to day activities.
In fact, because of this
problem, I spent the last six or seven years of my life with one side
of my jaw dislocated and in constant pain because of it.
I
wasn’t able to put it back in place myself, and didn’t recognize how
serious it was since I was used to constant aching in my joints. I even
went to see a joint specialist about it and they weren’t able to set it
right. They eased it temporarily, but I would be in pain again the day
after the appointment. It was only recently that I was able to see a jaw
specialist who finally relocated it for me.
But I wouldn’t actually put that high on my list of things that bother me about being hyperextendable. It’s annoying to have to be so careful about how I position my limbs when doing mundane things like walking, lifting something, sitting, and so on. Annoying definitely, frustrating for sure, but not the worst.
The worst thing is not being able to stretch, which is why I was so excited earlier. If I spend time moving furniture, exercising, or even a good portion of the day walking around, I get sore the next day. I get aches and pains just as most people do after exerting myself, except I can’t do anything about it. Generally speaking I’m in pain for three full days after doing anything strenuous, and I just have to wait it out.
Since all my connective tissue is so loose, any attempts to ease my pains with stretching are met with exactly no results. All it does is tap my bones together at their joints.
My ligaments and tendons, muscles and sinews, are all too stretchy, too flexible, too long. I’ve spoken with my doctor about this and have received the advice to “not do yoga or gymnastics”.
As for what I can do to fix it, there’s nothing. I can’t shorten my connective tissues. I’ve just been getting looser as I’ve grown, more strain is put on my joints as my tendons become more lax and do less of their intended purpose.
This applies to absolutely all of my joints. My elbows, wrists, knuckles, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, back, neck, jaw. Everything. It’s as if I’m held together by little strings, like a model skeleton. Just rattling around.
I’m glad you asked this, I’ve been meaning to put this all in one place for some time.
