I spend a fair amount of time teaching hypermobile people of all ages how their sitting position affects their ability to write, keyboard, or do just about anything. And of course, we want hypermobile people to have a stronger core while sitting. But their chair can help them. It is not a crutch. It is a…tool!
Yup.
Use your chair.
Correctly.
All the time.
Understanding how to use the back support of the chair correctly is simple. How to position your feet for postural support is also fairly simple for most people.
It is really hard for hypermobile people to do.
The reason it is so challenging has very little to do with being obstinate, forgetful, or in denial. You can stop beating yourself or your kid up for slouching, slumping, and sliding.
What is causing all the slouchy, slumping?
It has a lot to do with sensory processing and old habits.
- Hypermobility reduces sensory feedback from joints and muscles. This makes it harder to pay attention to posture while sitting. It is the equivalent of writing while wearing mittens.
- Less sensory feedback frequently results in unconscious strategies to boost feedback. Wrapping legs around the chair’s legs. Leaning forward and resting the head on the palms. Folding one leg under the body while sitting. They do increase proprioception. They also put the spine out of alignment and reduce the use of core stabilizers.
- From the moment a hypermobile person is born, they come up with compensatory strategies. Leaning. Twisting. Slumping. Getting up for no good reason, over and over. This means bad habits are formed before they know how to walk. By the time they get to school, they think “This is the way I am”. And it hard to break old habits without knowledge and motivation.
- It is really, really hard to change old habits. No matter the intellect, the motivation, or the pain. Habit retraining is not easy.
If you or your child are hypermobile, there are a few hacks that will work:
- Practice sitting correctly and evenly. Even for a few minutes. Notice the decrease in fatigue and the increase in support.
- Write a reminder and place it on the table or the screen.
- Make sure the chair is a good one. An old chair won’t offer you support. A cheap chair won’t either.
- Accept that muscle fatigue destroys the best intentions. Use movement breaks before they are required.
- Get rid of the old idea that depending on the chair indicates poor postural control. Use the chair to perform the task. You can exercise later. This is not the time to exercise.
Want some ideas on chairs for your child? Check out Need a Desk Chair for Your Hypermobile School-Age Child? Check out the Giantex Chair ,Why Hypermobility Makes it so Difficult to Build Strength , and Need A Desk Chair With a Footrest For Your Hypermobile Kid? .
Because strength is only one of the issues hypermobile kids and adults have, you might want to read Why Hypermobility Makes it so Difficult to Build Strength to learn more about why this is a lot harder than it appears that it should be!
Need more help (even if you are a hypermobile adult)?
Contact me through the comments section and we can do an online or phone consult…
or read one of my books:
The JointSmart Child series will give you practical ideas for living and thriving, and explain why hypermobility is not just loose joints; it affects emotional and social development. Hypermobility creates sensory processing issues that have to be managed.
Here are some of the things you will learn:
- How to pick the right chair for every activity.
- How to improve a child’s safety without cratering their spirit or becoming the “don’t sit like that” police.
- How to pick the best bikes, scooters, sports equipment and even the best sport for a child.
- How to make music lessons less tiring and less painful.
- How to create a sleep routine, and a great sleep environment that is truly safe AND refreshing. No hospital bed required!
Find both books as printable downloads on Your Therapy Source , or as e-books AND paperbacks on (where else?) Amazon .
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