You make good points! I love Feldenkrais movement therapy because it creates balance. I’m glad you figured out what works for you and that you are actively helping other people to feel better. That’s a great job!

Many, many massage therapists don’t realize that “tight” often means “taut” and taut muscles cannot be relaxed. Taut muscles are the rubber bands overstretched to the max that you described.

Getting bodies back into muscular balance is a better treatment than deep tissue massage for hypermobile folks (and helps the rest of us, too!)

And there are thoughtful, well-trained massage therapists who understand how bodies work and who can help most people. They don’t just go blasting into the taut muscles.

Thank you for writing,
Kathryn

Many hypermobile folks have the “feeling” of being tight but actually their muscles/ligaments are more like a rubberband stretched to the max…so the connective tissues can be overworked and easily spasm. Also, since they tend to sit in their ligaments, the surrounding muscles are also prone to imbalances and compensation, causing trigger points. For many, though, a deep tissue massage is just too much for the sensitive tissues, even if it feels good in the moment.

I have found a combination of myofascial release work and movement-based work such as Pilates and Feldenkrais (that I now teach) to help the most with hypermobile-related pain.