When Flexibility Needs Strength: Hypermobility, Stability & the Pelvic Floor

We all know that person - or maybe we are the person - who is flexible without trying. Maybe they always leaned into dance or gymnastics, found yoga with ease as they got older, or just generally had more range of motion their entire life. Even I remember watching these people during the Presidential Fitness Award tests in grade school with envy - and I was even one who found yoga and could contort into asanas with ease later on.

But there is a catch we all missed: mobility without stability and control often leads to other challenges.

Hypermobility is, in the simplest terms, joints moving through a greater-than-typical range of motion. Many people are hypermobile with no symptoms. For others there is discomfort, fatigue, recurring injuries, and even acute pain.

Being hypermobile isn't a flaw. It just needs to be approached differently in movement.

Flexibility vs. Stability:

Why More Range Isn’t Always Better

Let's get some basics out there first.

Flexibility is the range of motion in your joints and muscles.

Mobility is how well your joints and muscles move.

Stability is the ability to maintain posture, control balance, & keep joints aligned.

For someone like me, I have amazing mobility and flexibility - but up until my back injury in March, I was floppy - obviously not the technical term, but essentially I could throw myself into a yoga pose with depth, even when years out of practice, but my stability was not there. I essentially stretched too far without enough control. This lead to my muscles overworking to correct the hypermobility in my mid spine, eventually fatiguing them and causing acute inflammation and intense pain.

How do we "fix" the effects of hypermobility? Each case is different in methodology, but it all boils down to the same thing: learning the balance between flexibility/mobility and strength/control.

The question shifts from "how far can I move" to "how well can I control the movement I have."

Strength Matters in a Hypermobile Body

So where did my movement revolution start after injury? Small, controlled movements designed to build core strength.

This is where a professional, integrated team that emphasizes movement as medicine comes in to play. Our physical therapist, pilates instructors, pelvic floor therapy chair, massage therapist, chiropractor, and nutritionist all work together to create a healing plan that has naturally progressed strength work and inflammation control while assessing mobility, balance, coordination, confidence, and proprioception in your movement.

This looks like:

• Controlled resistance rather than chasing maximum range

• Strength through usable ranges of motion

• Slower, intentional movement

• Progressive loading

• Core, hip, and trunk stability

• Anti-inflammatory diet

• Massage for rehabilitation

• Re-learning how to connect to your body and move with intention

• Other integrated methods (dry needling, taping, adjustments, etc.)

Working within a healing ecosystem will provide you with options a standalone provider cannot, and this is key because our bodies are more than hypermobile moments.

The Missing Piece: Your Pelvic Floor Is Part of Your Stability System

The pelvic floor isn't an island of isolated muscles responsible only for bladder control. It works together with the diaphragm, deep abdominal muscles, spinal stabilizers, and hips to help manage pressure and stabilize the trunk and pelvis.

For someone with hypermobility, that coordination can become particularly important.

A hypermobile person does not automatically need a “stronger” or tighter pelvic floor.

Some people may have weakness, while others may develop an overactive pelvic floor as the body tries to create stability. A muscle can feel tight or work constantly and still not function effectively.

Physical Therapists are key to identifying imbalance within the connected body systems.

When the Body Starts Compensating for Hypermobility

So what does imbalance look like? Compensation.

In my case, my hypermobility point occurs mid-back. Combined with a larger chest, yoga, and a weak core, I was hinging into a backbend mid-back for most of my life. This caused compressed and bulging disks and sacral joint instability, ultimately leading to my 2-week immobilization and rolling spasms.

As we worked through the body system in physical therapy, other compensations were found: tight hip flexors, improper gait, rotation in the hips, mid-back tightness, pectoral tightness...the list goes on.

So many people experience low-back or hip discomfort, feeling unstable during exercise, difficulty maintaining posture, pelvic pressure, urinary leakage, constipation, pain with intercourse, or muscles that always feel “tight” despite frequent stretching.

Sometimes the area that feels tight isn't asking for more stretching - it is likely asking for better support through the trifecta: flexibility-mobility-stability.

Finding the Balance: Mobility + Strength + Coordination

While not every case of hypermobility has one universal exercise prescription, an individualized approach with the treatment team at Solmira Wellness uses deep knowledge of movement to create a plan that integrates:

Mobility → Strength → Stability → Coordination → Function

The goal is to have access to movement and control over it.

deep sigh

This is where I have to talk about the love of my life, my toxic relationship over the years: yoga.

Prior to my acute flare-up related to my thoracic hypermobility, I was recently getting back into yoga. Remember when I said I was floppy before? This lack of control, competitive nature (with myself), and desire to reach peak pose ultimately led to my flare-up.

Broke my damn heart.

However, there is good news: yoga is not out of my life forever. I just need to follow my treatment plan to build the triangle of flexibility, stability, and mobility so that I can move through stretches and asanas with intention and control.

Hypermobile people don't stop yoga or stretching - they just relearn how to move through that type of movement with strength. Finding instructors educated in hypermobility is key, as well.

Plus, there is always pilates for my next addiction...

Your Flexibility Isn't the Problem

A flexible body can be incredibly capable. The goal isn't to make it rigid—it's to give it the strength and support to use that flexibility well.

Combined movement therapies and reconnecting with your body are key to moving through and with hypermobility. Learn what it feels like when something is compensating, so you can address it before it becomes a movement pattern that is harder to undo.

Curious whether hypermobility could be influencing the way your body moves or feels? Our team can help you understand where you have mobility, where you may need more support, and how to build strength without losing the freedom of movement you love.