exercise and injury

[no5no5]

I have joint hypermobility, which predisposes me to minor joint injuries. I get them very, very often. I recently started an isometrics exercise program, which is particularly recommended for people with hypermobility because there is less likelihood of injuring a joint. At first it went really well, but yesterday I twisted my neck somehow and the rest of the day and still this morning I have significant neck pain. I have taken ibuprofen and used ice liberally, but it has not helped. I don't want to stop the exercise program every time I have an injury (especially since it happens so often), but I also don't want to make the neck injury worse. It is a 6-day program and today would be the last day of the second week (meaning that I'd be able to rest my neck tomorrow).

How do you know when to push past pain and when to take it easy?

[kittywitty]

I have osteomalacia patalae. And I strain my achilles a lot. It's hard to push past the pain, but I usually just find another exercise to take the place of whatever is hurting me for awhile. Light pilates, dancing, walking, etc.

I was just looking up joint hypermobility to see what you mean. I'm pretty sure my son, my ex's family, and one of my brothers have that. The TMJ, joint issues, hypermobility of the joints...My son's shoulder has been out of socket at least four times. If he falls-bam, I have to put it back in. And he got my clumsiness, the poor thing. I never even thought of this as a disorder of any kind until I read that article. I've always heard double jointed. Thank you for bringing this up.

In the article it says: "Low-impact exercise such as Pilates or Tai Chi is usually recommended for hypermobile people as it is less likely to cause injury than high-impact exercise or contact sports.
Moist hot packs can relieve the pain of aching joints and muscles. For some patients, ice packs also help to relieve pain."

[no5no5]

You can also be double jointed and not have problems. I didn't have serious issues until pretty recently, probably because I did a lot of swimming as a kid and I was in really great shape. But these days I'm not, so the muscles that should be helping to stabilize my joints aren't doing their jobs.

I don't think there's even one exercise in my isometrics book that doesn't involve the neck and shoulders. But I went ahead and did it anyway. I'm just going to ice it up like crazy and hope it feels better by Monday.

[CarrieMF]

If it's muscle strain put heat on it. Ice will get rid of imflamation, heat will help loosen the muscles up.

[no5no5]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

If it's muscle strain put heat on it. Ice will get rid of imflamation, heat will help loosen the muscles up.

Oh. I didn't know that. Thanks.