Hypermobility in dancers

Despite hypermobility being a topic that is frequently discussed in both dance and dance science circles, it was not an area I've ever had a great interest in. My focus has generally been on supplemental strength training and endocrinology, and anything that falls outside of that I've been reluctant to delve into too deeply. That is until I was diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome after my most recent injury. Being the type of person I am, I can't be told something is affecting my body without then poring over every piece of information on the subject that I can get my hands on. I've never considered myself to have above average flexibility compared with both my dancer and non-dancer colleagues, in fact, my lack of hip flexibility and subsequent limited turnout had been a bone of contention for most of my performing life. Sure I had to resort to my knees rotating and sneakily compensating for what my hips lacked (terrible idea by the way), but the rest of my flexibility levels were pretty good so I accepted you can't win them all and figured I was working from a pretty typical physical start-point. I therefore assumed hypermobility wasn't going to be a problem that affected me. Turns out I was wrong - I was blessed with both average flexibility and sub-par joints. Hypermobility syndrome affects the stability and range of motion of several of, although not necessarily all the body's joints and subsequently can have a substantial impact on posture, joint pain, physical performance and proprioception.