One of the most confusing parts of hypermobility is that your body can feel both loose and tight at the same time.
Your joints may move too far.
Your muscles may feel stiff.
You may crave stretching, but stretching may not actually fix the problem.
You may feel weak, but also like your muscles never fully relax.
This is one of the classic contradictions of a hypermobile body: the joints may be extra mobile, but the muscles may be working overtime to create stability.
In a typical body, ligaments, connective tissue, joint capsules, muscles, and the nervous system all work together to create support. In a hypermobile body, the passive structures around the joints may allow more motion than usual. That can create a sense of instability.
When joints do not feel stable, muscles often compensate.
They may grip.
They may brace.
They may tighten.
They may stay switched on even when you are trying to rest.
This can happen around the hips, low back, ribs, neck, shoulders, knees, ankles, jaw, and pelvic area. Over time, this constant stabilizing effort can become exhausting.
This is also why hypermobile people may feel “tight” even though they are flexible. The tightness may not be from short muscles. It may be protective tension. Your nervous system may be trying to create the stability your joints are not naturally giving you.
Research supports the idea that muscle weakness and fatigue can be connected in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. In one study, fatigue severity was directly related to muscle weakness. [1] Another review of hypermobility spectrum disorders notes that treatment often includes physical therapy focused on strengthening periarticular muscles — the muscles around the joints — to help improve mobility and support. [2]
That does not mean hypermobile people are weak in a character sense. It means the body may be dealing with a mechanical challenge: the joints move more than average, and the muscles have to work harder to manage that extra motion.
Imagine trying to hold a stack of loose books while walking across a room. If the stack keeps shifting, your hands have to grip harder. That is similar to what many hypermobile bodies are doing all day. The body is constantly making tiny corrections to keep everything organized.
This can explain why you may feel sore after simple activities like sitting at a desk, standing in line, cleaning the kitchen, walking through a store, or sleeping in a strange position.
The effort is not always dramatic. It is constant.
And constant effort adds up.
Why stretching is not always the answer
When your muscles feel tight, stretching may seem like the obvious solution. But with hypermobility, the tightness may be your body’s attempt to create stability. If you stretch aggressively into end range, you may temporarily feel relief, but you may also remove some of the tension your body was using to feel safe.
That is why many hypermobile people benefit from focusing less on flexibility and more on strength, control, body awareness, and gentle support.
The goal is not to become rigid. The goal is to help your body find a middle range where it does not have to collapse into end range or grip for dear life.
Where gentle support can fit in
Support does not always mean immobilizing a joint. Sometimes support means giving the body more sensory information so it does not have to guess so hard.
Gentle compression or soft support around the core, hips, and lower back may help some people feel more connected to their body. For hypermobile people, that sense of feedback can be helpful because the nervous system uses sensory input to understand where the body is in space.
Think of it less like “holding you in” and more like giving your body a reminder: here is your center, here is your support, here is where you are.
Key Takeaway
If you have hypermobility, your muscles may be doing extra work all day to help stabilize joints that move beyond the typical range. That hidden effort can contribute to tightness, soreness, pain, and fatigue. Support, strengthening, and body awareness can help reduce the amount of guessing your body has to do.
Sources
[1] Voermans, N.C. et al. “Fatigue is associated with muscle weakness in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: an explorative study.” Physiotherapy, 2011.
[2] Carroll, M.B. “Hypermobility spectrum disorders: A review.” Rheumatology and Immunology Research, 2023.
[3] The Ehlers-Danlos Society. “Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD).”
[4] The Ehlers-Danlos Society. “Fatigue in EDS and HSD.”