If hypermobility is “too much movement in the joints,” hypomobility is the opposite – joints that move too little, that are stiff and limited. It’s like having hinges that have rusted and no longer want to open easily.
Sounds like typical “lack of stretching”? It might be something more. Here’s what you should know.
Hypomobility is a condition in which a joint has a smaller-than-optimal range of motion. In other words – the joint does not move as freely as it should.
Imagine that most people can raise their arm to 180 degrees (straight up). A person with hypomobility might stop at 120 degrees – and that’s it. No further. Stiffness, pain, blockage.
Hypomobility isn’t limited to a specific area – it can affect any joint in the body, often leading to stiffness and pain that persist in the affected area. Most commonly it affects:
Spine (especially lower back, neck)
Shoulders
Hips
Knees
Sacroiliac joint (SI joint)
Hypomobility can result from various factors, making it a common problem at any age and activity level. It often appears after injuries, chronic illnesses, or as a natural part of aging, and can significantly affect people’s lives, worsening over time if untreated.
Main causes:
Injuries: Sprains, fractures, and dislocations can cause joint stiffness, especially with prolonged immobilization. When a joint is immobilized (cast, brace), ligaments and muscles “forget” how to move. After removing the cast, the joint remains stiff.
Arthritis: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis cause inflammation, reducing mobility and increasing pain. Cartilage (the cushion protecting bones) wears down, the joint swells, hurts, and moves less freely.
Surgical scars: Scar tissue is less elastic than healthy tissue. If surgery affected the joint area, scars may limit its mobility.
Lack of movement (sedentary lifestyle): “Use it or lose it” – if you don’t use a joint through its full range, you gradually lose it. Sitting 8 hours a day = hips that forget how to fully extend.
Muscle tension and imbalances: Overworked, tight muscles can “lock” a joint, limiting its mobility. Often this is the body’s defensive response to pain or poor posture.
Aging: Collagen fibers in ligaments bond more tightly with age, one reason many of us become stiffer over time. It’s a natural process – joints stop being as “lubricated” as they once were.
Posture habits: Chronic poor habits (e.g., slouching, forward head tilt) can lead to hypomobility in certain joints (e.g., closed chest, shoulders forward).
Symptoms can include stiffness, pain, and difficulty performing everyday tasks.
Specifically:
Stiffness – especially in the morning or after long periods of sitting
Joint pain – especially when attempting movement
Limited range of motion – can’t bend, reach, or twist like before
Feeling “locked” – joint doesn’t want to move
Muscle tension – muscles around the joint are hard, tight
Difficulty with daily activities – putting on shoes, reaching high shelves, standing from a chair
It depends on the cause.
If hypomobility results from injury or immobilization – it can often be reversed with physical therapy, stretching, and joint mobilization. It’s a matter of time and systematic work.
If it results from chronic illness (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis) – it cannot be completely cured, but symptoms can be managed, progression slowed, and mobility improved through therapy.
If it results from aging – it’s natural, but it can be slowed through movement, stretching, and maintaining flexibility.
Key: Hypomobility can seriously affect people’s lives and worsen over time if not treated properly.
Yes, if nothing is done.
Hypomobility works like a vicious circle:
The joint is stiff → it hurts to move
Because of pain, you avoid movement
Lack of movement → the joint becomes even stiffer
Back to point 1
The less you move, the more the joint “closes.” Over time, you lose range of motion, muscles weaken, and compensations in other joints (which work too much) lead to further problems.
But: If you work on mobility systematically, you can stop progression or even reverse the process.
Short-term:
Pain during daily activities
Reduced quality of life (harder to move, avoid activity)
Muscle tension and pain (compensations)
Long-term:
Progressive stiffness – smaller and smaller range of motion
Muscle weakness – lack of movement = muscle atrophy
Degenerative changes – immobile joints don’t “feed” cartilage (movement pumps synovial fluid)
Problems in other joints – body compensates, other joints overwork and overload
Difficulty with self-care – in extreme cases: walking, dressing, personal care
Reduced movement (hypomobility) of the sacroiliac joint can lead to muscle tension, limited mobility, and pain.
Risk of injury:
Muscle strains and tears – stiff joints make muscles work harder and more prone to injury
Compensations in other joints – e.g., stiff hips = lower back overwork = back pain
Poor proprioception – the brain “forgets” how to control the joint, increasing risk of falls and injuries
Sudden movements – attempting a quick movement in a stiff joint can cause a sprain or strain
But: Hypomobility is not as injury-prone as hypermobility. The problem occurs when you suddenly try to do something your body isn’t prepared for (e.g., bend quickly when hips have been stiff for years).
Problem: Yoga requires mobility.
Yoga often requires good joint mobility – bends, twists, backbends. For someone with hypomobility, this can be frustrating – “everyone else can do it, but I can’t.”
But: Yoga is ideal for hypomobility – if practiced wisely.
How to practice safely:
Warm-up is key
Treating hypomobility includes techniques to improve joint function and reduce stiffness. Cold joints don’t want to move. Start with:
Gentle movement (marching in place, cat-cow)
Warm bath before practice (heat relaxes tissues)
Slow, gentle movements through as much range as possible
Don’t force – work gradually
Hypomobility won’t disappear in a day. Work gradually, increasing range millimeter by millimeter, not centimeter by centimeter.
Today you reached 90° in a forward bend? Great. Tomorrow maybe 92°
Don’t compare yourself to others – you work on your body at your own pace
Use props – they are your friends
Blocks, straps, blankets, bolsters – not “cheating.” They let you work safely.
Examples:
Stiff hips in a forward bend? Put hands on blocks; you don’t need to touch the floor
Stiff shoulders? Use a strap in poses requiring hands behind the back
Stiff spine? Bolster under the back in reclined poses
Long holds (but gentle)
Time matters more than intensity. For hypomobility, long, gentle stretches work better than short, intense ones.
Yin yoga is great (passive, long holds 3–5 minutes) – connective tissue needs time to “open”
Restorative yoga (supported poses with props) – perfect for stiff joints
Note: Stretch gently, without pain. “Pleasant discomfort,” not “painful suffering.”
Breath – your key to relaxation
Deep breathing signals the body: “It’s safe, you can relax.” Tight muscles (common in hypomobility) start to release.
Exhale = relax
Inhale = prepare
Go deeper in the pose always on exhale
These poses are your friends
Hip stretches:
Pigeon (with props under hips if needed)
Butterfly (gently, don’t force knees down)
Happy Baby (knees to chest)
Spine mobilizers:
Cat-cow (gentle spine movement)
Gentle twists (lying, prop under knees)
Sphinx (gentle backbend)
Chest and shoulder openers:
Child’s pose with knees wide
Arm stretch with strap
Lying on a bolster along the spine (opens chest)
Strengthen too, not just stretch
Hypomobility often comes with weak muscles. Strengthening helps stabilize joints and improves function.
Standing poses (warriors) – strengthen legs and hips
Planks – strengthen core and arms
Balances – improve proprioception
For yoga teachers working with hypomobility:
Give time and patience – more time to enter poses and open tissues
Encourage props – “not cheating, smart practice”
Don’t show them as “example of lack of flexibility” – each body is different
Offer alternatives – modify forward bends, lunges, or shoulder poses with props
Watch for pain – adjust if the student shows discomfort
Pay attention to tricky poses – deep forward bends, lunges, arm-intensive poses
Hypermobility (hyperextension) = joints move too far, loose and elastic ligaments
| Hypomobility | Hypermobility |
|---|---|
| Stiff joints | Loose joints |
| Limited ROM | Excessive ROM |
| Tight ligaments | Loose ligaments |
| Needs strengthening | Needs stretching/mobilization |
| Difficult to enter poses | Easy to enter poses (but unstable) |
| Pain when moving | Pain after moving (overload) |
Fun fact: Most people are a mix of hypo- and hypermobility – one joint may be stiff, another hypermobile. The body compensates one problem with another.
Physical therapy: Tailored plan with stretching and strengthening exercises to stabilize and protect joints. Manual therapy and mobilization reduce inflammation and pain, restoring joint function.
Regular stretching: 10–15 minutes daily works wonders over weeks.
Heat: Warm baths, sauna, heating pads relax tissues and aid stretching.
Movement: Safe, regular movement – walking, swimming, yoga, pilates.
Painkillers if needed: Paracetamol or NSAIDs (e.g., ibuprofen) for temporary relief, but these only reduce symptoms.
Hypomobility can be frustrating, painful, and limiting, but it’s not permanent.
Key facts:
✅ Hypomobility = limited joint range of motion
✅ Causes: injury, arthritis, immobilization, lack of movement, aging
✅ Symptoms: stiffness, pain, difficulty in daily activities
✅ Permanent? Depends – often reversible with therapy
✅ Progression? Yes, if ignored – but can be stopped
✅ Injury risk: moderate – mainly due to compensations and weak muscles
✅ Yoga: warm-up, gradual practice, props, long gentle holds
✅ Opposite: hypermobility (loose, unstable joints)
Most important:
If you have hypomobility, don’t give up on movement. Yoga, therapy, stretching – all help. Work gradually, be patient, use props.
Stiffness isn’t forever. It’s just an obstacle to overcome – step by step, breath by breath. 💚🧘♀️
Sources of information used in the hypomobility article:
Aging and cross-linking of skin collagen - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3130057/
Collagen, cross-linking, and advanced glycation end products in aging human skeletal muscle - Journal of Applied Physiology https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00670.2007
Age-related changes in collagen from mouse tail tendon - PMC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7397091/
The role of collagen crosslinks in ageing and diabetes - PMC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4241420/
Mechanical properties and collagen cross-linking of patellar tendon in old and young men - Journal of Applied Physiology https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00291.2009
Crosslinking by advanced glycation end products increases stiffness of collagen - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11822407/
Physical Therapist's Guide to Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction https://www.myactionpt.com/physical-therapist-s-guide-to-sacroiliac-joint-dysfunction
Exercise for Sacroiliac Joint Pain Relief - Spine-Health https://www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/exercise-sacroiliac-joint-pain-relief
Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction: Diagnosis and Treatment - American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2022/0300/p239.html
Sacroiliac Joint Syndrome - Physiopedia https://www.physio-pedia.com/Sacroiliac_Joint_Syndrome
Treatment Options for Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction - Spine-Health https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/sacroiliac-joint-dysfunction/treatment-options-sacroiliac-joint-dysfunction
SI Joint Dysfunction Treatment Physical Therapy - Wright Physical Therapy https://wrightpt.com/si-joint-dysfunction-treatment-physical-therapy/
Sacroiliac Joint Injury - StatPearls - NCBI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557881/
Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction - Cedars-Sinai https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/s/sacroiliac-joint-dysfunction.html
Pediatric generalized joint hypomobility and musculoskeletal complaints - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15060217/
What I share here is my personal reflection and knowledge from various sources — not medical advice. Every body is different, so if you have health issues, hormonal concerns, abdominal pain or other symptoms, it’s always best to consult a doctor or specialist. Listen to your body and treat this information as inspiration, not diagnosis. 💚
The articles I create are my way of deepening my knowledge about yoga, bodywork, anatomy, and the mechanisms behind how and why our body responds the way it does. I’m not medically trained — these texts are more like my personal knowledge base and a space for conscious growth.