Bendy, not Broken

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Research Corner

Hypermobility is a spectrum — and a surprisingly common one among fencers, dancers, and martial artists. On one end are people who are simply “extra stretchy,” with a few bonus degrees of motion in their joints. On the other are those with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) or Joint Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (JHSD), which can come with chronic pain, fatigue, joint instability, dislocations, and even issues affecting the skin, GI tract, or autonomic nervous system.

In my practice as both a sports medicine doctor and a coach, I’ve seen just how variable these presentations can be. Some folks have no issues. Others struggle to stay active, healthy, or even upright on bad days.

What ties it all together? A mismatch between mobility and stability. If your range of motion in a joint is excessive, your muscles have to work overtime to hold everything in place —so if you lack enough muscle control to protect against overextension you’re more prone to injury.

Particularly for contact sports, we know hypermobility is a direct risk factor for not just shoulder or finger dislocations, but ACL tears, knee injuries, and more. On the other hand, regular exercise is one of the most important things a hypermobile individual can do to keep their muscles strong - which means each individual needs to find the right balance that suits their body.

Further Reading:

Liaghat B, Pedersen JR, Young JJ, Thorlund JB, Juul-Kristensen B, Juhl CB. Joint hypermobility in athletes is associated with shoulder injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2021 Apr 26;22(1):389. doi: 10.1186/s12891-021-04249-x. PMID: 33902511; PMCID: PMC8077913.

Gensemer C, Burks R, Kautz S, Judge DP, Lavallee M, Norris RA. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndromes: Complex phenotypes, challenging diagnoses, and poorly understood causes. Dev Dyn. 2021 Mar;250(3):318-344. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.220. Epub 2020 Aug 17. PMID: 32629534; PMCID: PMC7785693.

HEMA Hot Take

We’re studying a martial art — and martial traditions come with the risk of dogma. When historical manuals or modern coaches say “this is the way to do X,” we often fail to question who that move works for and why. Our community is wildly diverse — not just in height and gender, but body proportions and basic joint structure.

We’ve gotten much better in 2025 at acknowledging differences in height, mass, and “personality type” when it comes to your fencing— there are entire workshops about how to fence as a shorter person, or how to use your natural defensiveness or passivity as a strength. But one variable we almost never talk about? Mobility.

If you’re a coach or aspiring workshop teacher and you have experience teaching those who are hypermobile (or are hypermobile yourself), maybe it’s time to share that knowledge with others. Particularly for wrestling, I could see this being beneficial for the community and being a positive impact for the many hypermobile fencers in our community!

Coach’s Corner

Fencers with hypermobility need to train slightly differently than their “tight and tanky” peers. Here’s a few things to consider when helping these athletes with their approach to fencing:

1. Prioritize Control Over Range
For newer fencers, ditch large ballistic movements and focus on precise, deliberate exercises. Just because they can ‘make the shape’ with their body or reach a position doesn’t mean they can do it at speed with appropriate control. For wrestling in particular, they may be able to ‘cheat’ using excessive joint motion without engaging the correct muscles, so keep an eye on form and encourage them to be equally picky about their position and mechanics.

2. Build Muscle Mass — Strategically
Hypermobility means joints need as much active stability as they can get. Muscle mass is how their body can compensate. Resistance training for these fencers is a must-have, no matter what their competitive skill level is. Specifically, tempo lifts and long isometrics can be helpful to build neuromuscular control - but even just spending a couple days a week with resistance bands at home can make a huge difference for their long term athletic health.

3. Balance and Proprioception Training
These athletes can have more difficulty than others with proprioception, or that position sense of where they are in space. This is most obvious in beginners, but even skilled fencers with hypermobility or EDS can have this issue. In addition to fencing, closed-chain drills, balance work, and slow dynamic movement (like controlled lunges and crawling patterns) can be valuable additions to a robust training program.

4. Respect Recovery
Because their stabilizing systems are constantly “on,” hypermobile fencers may fatigue faster. Most importantly, once they fatigue they become even more at risk of injury as they lose the reaction time and muscle activation that helps keep joints safe. Plan for adequate rest and encourage them to always listen to warning bodily signs. “I can probably do one more fight” means it’s time to wrap up for the day!

5. Customize Warm-Ups & Cool Downs
These fencers don’t benefit from passive stretching. Warmup games where they naturally start to lunge, squat, and run are great options at the start of class. Alternatively, try active mobility and muscle activation to prepare the body — think glute bridges, bird dogs, wall sits, band pulls, and iso holds.

Health & Fitness Tips

Coffee or Preworkout: Which should you choose?

Both can get you hyped before a training session — but they’re not quite the same beast.

Coffee gives you ~95 mg of caffeine per cup plus antioxidants, polyphenols, and (let’s be honest) emotional comfort. A cup 45-60 minutes before your workout will give you the best bang for you buck. Keep in mind however since dosing is inconsistent, you won’t actually know how much caffeine you getting.

Preworkout Supplements offer a precise dose — usually 150–200 mg of caffeine— and hit faster. BUT, they also contain a myriad of other substances from creatine to guarana. You may be ingesting the ones on the label, plus possibly others as well based on studies that show issues with consistency and cross-contamination even with popular brands.

The choice is yours - stay tuned for more on this in one of our next newsletters.

Conditioning Move of the Week

Fencing Lunge Weighted Toe Raises

This move targets foot and ankle control, calf, quad and glute endurance, and encourages fencers to isolate leg movements and develop control in the lunge position.

• Grab a weight and hold it close to your body as you get into a deep fencing lunge and hold.

• Begin to slowly raise and lower the front heel, without losing hip or core position.

• Aim for 30 seconds on each side, or 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps per side.

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