Thread by @BadgleyLaurence

I think you are expressing that baseline inherited ligament laxity potentiates additional ligament laxity. This seems correct. In medicine we call ligaments, “plastic tissues”. They can be lengthened if exposed to chronic repetitive stretch. Ligaments connect bones at joints.

https://twitter.com/roomcmoo/status/1166754772562534400

Each joint has a normal range of motion. Ligaments hereditarily & excessively stretchable endow joints w. greater range of motion (ROM). Over time joints experience repeated mechanical stress of forced ROM & repetitive mechanical stress tends to stretch ligaments into new lengths

Over time, as ligament becomes longer, this endows joint w. even greater ROM. Greater ROM of joint imposes greater angular moment of force on ligament, with additional excessive stretching. The dynamic of stress-ROM-stretch magnifies over time; lengthening this plastic tissue.

Greater angular rotation associated with increased ROM exposes the ligaments of that joint to potentially greater wear & tear, & especially when acute sudden injurious mechanical forces are involved, e.g., falls, motor vehicle accidents, etc.

Injurious forces can tear ligament fibers & permanently alter tethering integrity. Unlike skin & muscle tissues, which have generous blood supply, ligaments & tendons don’t & don’t heal as readily when injured & torn. Once they loose their normal & stable length it is forever.

The ligament dynamics discussed herein is why it is important to identify children with #HSD & flexible ligaments & to steer them away from contact sports & extreme sports, where pratfalls can cause dislocations & ligament injuries of pelvis, back & shoulders.

These kinds of injuries can disrupt integrity of some of largest ligament systems in human body, ligaments of pelvis sacroiliac joints. Disruption of these ligament systems can lead to lifelong low back pain, chronic sciatica, spine scoliosis, & tilted & pained shoulders & neck.

Paradox is that loose & hyper-flexible ligaments lend excellence at cheerleading, ballet, soccer, gymnastics, basketball etc. Unfortunately, these sports include falls onto buttocks.

Women with #HSD who pursue these sports as youths commonly incur chronic low back pain by time they enter H.S.

Horseback riding falls, skateboarding, & skiing are among the most dangerous sports for those with #HSD. Women with #HSD have great coordination & length of reach & can excel at swimming, golf, fencing, etc.; avoiding chronically painful pelvic sacroiliac joint injuries.