If you are hypermobile, you have probably been praised for your flexibility in every exercise class you have ever attended — and quietly wondered why your joints ache, click, sublux or feel unreliable despite it. Joint hypermobility sits on a spectrum, from a few loose joints with no symptoms through hypermobility spectrum disorder to hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), a connective tissue condition that also affects skin, fatigue, digestion and more. What all of these share is ligaments that do not provide the passive stability most people take for granted. That means muscle has to do the job instead, and it means the last thing your body needs is more range. Pilates suits hypermobility well — but only a certain kind of Pilates, taught with a certain set of rules.
Key takeaway: Pilates is one of the best forms of exercise for hypermobility when it prioritises stability over stretch. Train strength and control in the middle of each joint’s range, never push to end range, use isometric holds and closed-chain work, build proprioception, and progress slowly. Avoid deep stretching, locked-out joints and fast, ballistic movement. Clinical or rehab-style classes suit hypermobile bodies far better than flexibility-focused ones.
Pilates is good for hypermobility when it is taught as stability training rather than stretching. Hypermobile joints lack ligament support, so the goal is to build muscular control through the middle of the range — using slow tempo, light resistance, isometric holds, closed-chain exercises such as bridges and wall squats, and balance work that improves proprioception. Movements are kept short of end range, knees and elbows are never locked, and progression is gradual. Sophie Mercer, PMA-certified clinical Pilates instructor, designed an 8-week SI Joint Pain protocol of 32 exercises built on this mid-range pelvic and core stabilisation approach.
Why stretching is the wrong tool for hypermobility
Flexibility is not the problem for a hypermobile body; it is the symptom. Ligaments that are already lax do not tighten because you strengthen around them, but the muscles and the nervous system’s map of the joint can take over the stabilising role remarkably well. Stretching does the opposite: it takes a joint that is already going too far and asks it to go further, usually straining the very tissues that are struggling. Much of the pain hypermobile people feel is from muscles gripping to protect joints that feel unstable — which is why stretching feels good briefly, then leaves the joint more vulnerable and the muscle tighter than before. The way to reduce that guarding is to give the muscle a reason to trust the joint, and that comes from strength and control, not length.
If you have persistent low back or pelvic pain with hypermobility, the sacroiliac joints are a common culprit; the release-then-stabilise logic in SI joint pain exercises applies with the stretching component kept minimal.
The five rules for hypermobile Pilates
- Mid-range, always. Work in the middle 60–70 per cent of the joint’s motion. Stop well before it feels “open” or stretched.
- Never lock out. Keep a soft bend in knees and elbows in every plank, bridge, squat and arm exercise.
- Slow tempo. Three seconds out, three seconds back. Speed hides poor control; slowness reveals it.
- Feel where you are. Proprioception — the sense of joint position — is often reduced in hypermobility. Use light springs, bands, the floor, walls and your own hands for feedback, and practise eyes-closed balance in safe positions.
- Progress by control, not by range or load. Add repetitions or time under tension before adding weight, and add weight before adding range (which you may never need).
Hypermobility exercises that help
Start with 15 minutes, three or four times a week, and expect a slow build. Soreness that fades within a day is fine; joint pain, swelling or a “hanging” feeling is a sign to reduce.
- Deep core activation with breath. Lie on your back, knees bent. Exhale and gently draw the lower belly in while lifting the pelvic floor; inhale and release. 10 breaths. The deep abdominals and pelvic floor are the trunk’s stabilisers, and hypermobile people are often weak here despite looking “toned”. Pelvic floor issues are common on the hypermobility spectrum; the coordination work in pilates for pelvic floor is relevant.
- Glute bridge with a ball between the knees. Squeeze the ball lightly, exhale, and lift the hips to a straight line — not beyond. Hold 3 seconds, lower slowly. 10–12. The ball gives feedback and keeps the knees from splaying.
- Wall squat hold. Back against a wall, feet forward, slide down to a comfortable angle above 90 degrees and hold 20–40 seconds, knees soft. 3 rounds. Isometric strength for knees and hips with zero end range.
- Side-lying clams and small leg lifts. Keep the pelvis stacked and the range small. 12 each side. Hip stabilisers protect hypermobile hips and SI joints.
- Bird dog with a pause. On hands and knees, elbows soft. Exhale, reach opposite arm and leg to horizontal, hold 3–5 seconds. 8 each side. Trains the trunk to stay still while the limbs move.
- Scapular stability: wall angels and band pull-aparts. Stand tall, elbows soft, and slide the arms up the wall only as far as the shoulder blades stay down; or pull a light band apart at chest height. 10–12. Hypermobile shoulders need shoulder-blade control before any overhead work.
- Single-leg balance with soft knee. Stand on one leg, knee slightly bent, 20–30 seconds; progress to eyes closed, then to a folded towel. Proprioception in its purest form.
- Standing heel raises. Slow rise and slower lower, knees soft. 12–15. Ankles are commonly lax; strong calves stabilise them.
- Modified side plank on knees. Forearm down, hold 15–30 seconds, 3 each side, shoulder stacked not hanging.
The posture work in exercises to improve posture complements this well, since hypermobile bodies often sit and stand at end range — locked knees, swayed back, hanging shoulders — without noticing.
What to avoid with hypermobility
- Deep, long-held stretches — splits, deep backbends, pigeon at full depth, hanging forward folds.
- Bouncing, ballistic and momentum-driven movement.
- Locked knees and elbows under load, including “straight-arm” planks and hyperextended standing.
- Heavy overhead pressing before the shoulder blades are stable.
- High-impact sport during flares.
- Flexibility-focused classes that treat range as the goal, and instructors who push you “a bit further” because you can.
Which type of Pilates is best — and is reformer good for hypermobility?
Clinical or rehabilitation Pilates, in small groups or one-to-one, is the best fit: instructors who cue mid-range control, use props for feedback and regress exercises without fuss. Reformer Pilates can be excellent, because springs provide resistance and feedback through the whole movement, straps guide limb paths and the carriage makes closed-chain leg work easy — all things a proprioceptively challenged body benefits from. Keep springs light, ranges short and tempo slow, and decline any use of the straps for stretching. Fast-paced fitness reformer classes with heavy jumps and long stretch series are not the right environment. If you are unsure, ask whether the studio has experience with hypermobility or hEDS.
When to see someone
If you have widespread joint pain, frequent subluxations or dislocations, significant fatigue, unexplained bruising or stretchy skin, dizziness on standing, or digestive and bladder symptoms alongside hypermobility, ask your GP about assessment for hypermobility spectrum disorder or hEDS, and request a referral to a physiotherapist experienced in hypermobility. Exercise remains the cornerstone of management on the whole spectrum, but a diagnosis changes pacing, and pain flares, dysautonomia and fatigue all need to be factored into how much you do.
How the SI Joint Pain protocol helps
Sophie’s 8-Week SI Joint Pain Program is built around the principle hypermobile bodies need most — stabilising the pelvis and trunk through mid-range, controlled strength — across 32 exercises that begin with deep core and hip activation and progress to functional loading without end-range stretching. Because lax ligaments make the sacroiliac joints one of the most common sources of pain in hypermobility, it is a well-matched starting point, and the movement rules it teaches carry over to every other joint.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Joint hypermobility ranges from harmless to part of a connective tissue disorder such as hEDS; if you have frequent joint instability, widespread pain, significant fatigue or other systemic symptoms, please consult your doctor and a physiotherapist experienced in hypermobility before starting or changing an exercise programme.