W5R1.

[BioVerde]

I have hypermobile joints including my ankles, which means I twist it pretty often and end up grazing my knees or hurting myself otherwise. I live in a place with a lot of uphills and downhills and it's usually worse when I'm going downhill, but there's no avoiding that lol. Any advice from anyone with similar problems? Thanks

[Cmoi Graduate]

I don't have hypermobility, though I believe nowster does.

I do run up and down hills a lot. I've never been injured running uphill, only downhill, so I'd say you're right to pay attention to that. You might find this article helpful: runnersworld.com/uk/trainin...

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

As Cmoi suggests... hopefully nowster may pop in to be of help...

[drl212 Graduate]

I'm afraid I can't offer any experience, not having hyper mobility. I do wonder if you might want to seek out your healthcare provider or physio for more information related to your condition?

[BioVerde in reply to drl212]

Thank youu. Yes I see a physio sometimes and have wraps and exercise bands to strengthen the muscles around my joints, was just wondering if anyone had any specifically running related tips!

[nowster Graduate]

Do you have any devices from a podiatrist (eg. insoles)?

Have you ever been assessed by a rheumatologist?

There are two extreme schools of thought for hypermobility:

- Strap everything down so it can't move. This has been the historical approach and can make things worse in the long term.

- Provide no support (or minimal support), but tone up the muscles so that they do their intended job of supporting the joints. This doesn't have an instant win but is ultimately better.

With hypermobility (especially EDS-H) it's a use it or lose it situation. If you don't keep up the muscle tone they don't support the joints, and you then find it harder to work to get that muscle tone back.

[EDS = Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome nhs.uk/conditions/ehlers-da...]

My background: I had orthotics (insoles) since my teenage years to treat flat feet. I flattened them after a few years and needed periodic replacements. The most recent replacements were in 2010 and they nearly crippled me, giving me blisters. That caused me to do a bit of research of my own. Coincidentally the "barefoot shoes" craze had been a couple of years before, and a chance comment about them being good for flat feet led to me trying them out.

A few years later my sister was assessed as having EDS-H by a rheumatologist. One thing the consultant said was that we were to avoid any type of exercise which would increase our flexibility, specifically mentioning no yoga. Pilates was fine, but definitely no yoga.

PS. I gave myself a double ankle sprain on my left leg on my final couch to 5k run which needed several physio appointments to fix. That was a "too much, too soon" injury.

[BioVerde in reply to nowster]

Thanks for the response! I have really high arches and insoles in my hiking boots but none in my running shoes. I'll definitely look into getting some. I've been trying to run in flatter areas to avoid injuring myself. I had no Idea about not doing yoga, I've been stretching using yoga videos before my runs because of the advice on the c25k.

I'll try applying this stuff to my next run!

[nowster Graduate in reply to BioVerde]

High arches is not typical of hypermobility, but it affects people in different ways.

You might want to look into gait analysis, to find how your legs and feet behave during running. You might not need insoles. Many running shops offer that service.

[BioVerde in reply to nowster]

Yeah I've been told. I haven't been diagnosed with anything but joint hypermobility but my physio told me that some people with hEDS get that combination. I'll check out the running shops near me. thankss