01/10/2026
🦓 The Spectrum of Mobility:
Can a Person be Both Hypermobile and Hypomobile?
While mainstream narratives often frame connective tissue profiles in binary terms - either hypermobile or (rarely) hypomobile - the lived reality is often far more complex. In truth, it is biologically and mechanistically possible for different parts of the same body to express divergent mobility traits.
Some individuals may display:
Hypermobile shoulders, but rigid hips.
A flexible spine, but stiff ankles.
Laxity in small joints, but dense fascial tension in the jaw or pelvis.
This isn’t contradictory - it’s consistent with the regional heterogeneity of connective tissue expression.
🧬 The Science Behind Regional Variation
Several factors explain why one part of the body may be hypermobile while another is hypomobile:
1. Embryological Origin and Tissue Lineage
Different tissues arise from distinct embryological lineages (e.g. mesoderm, neural crest), which carry region-specific gene expression patterns.
For example:
Craniofacial tissues may exhibit different collagen profiles or ECM stiffness than limb joints.
Pelvic fascia develops with a different mechanical role than elbow ligaments, influencing long-term tension, elasticity, and collagen turnover.
2. Local Mechanical Stress and Micro Injury
Mechanical loading, trauma, and postural habits affect regional ECM remodeling. Areas exposed to chronic tension or repetitive strain may become locally fibrotic (resulting in fibrosis) or hypomobile, even in a system predisposed to hypermobility.
Conversely, structural instability in another region may lead to ongoing laxity or tissue collapse.
3. Fascial Continuity, but Variable Density
While fascia is continuous throughout the body, it is not uniform.
Different regions have:
Varying proportions of collagen types (I vs III vs V).
Differing myofibroblast activity.
Regional variations in hydration, crosslinking, and tension patterns.
Thus, a person might have:
Hypomobile, thickened fascial planes in the legs.
Hypermobile, under-structured fascia in the neck.
All within the same body.
4. Epigenetic and Environmental Influences
Folate metabolism, methylation status, mitochondrial capacity, and inflammatory load can influence local ECM behavior. For example:
A past injury or immune activation in one area might trigger TGF-β–mediated fibrosis, locking down mobility.
Another region, unaffected or more elastic by default, may remain hypermobile - or even become more unstable to compensate.
5. Neuro-fascial Crosstalk
The nervous system plays a central role in regulating muscle tone and fascia behavior. Local autonomic dysregulation (e.g., sympathetic overdrive, vagus nerve restriction) can drive regional tension and contracture, especially in areas like the:
Jaw and neck.
Pelvic floor.
Diaphragm and intercostals.
These zones may exhibit hypomobility despite an otherwise hypermobile system, due to neuro-fascial entrapment and altered signal propagation.
đź©» Clinical Reality: Mixed Terrain Within One Body
The idea that a person must be either “hypermobile” or “hypomobile” oversimplifies the multi-layered, regionally responsive nature of connective tissue.
True connective tissue expression is:
Non-uniform.
Modifiable over time.
Influenced by injury, environment, trauma, and genomic pathways.
Recognising this complexity allows for more accurate bodywork, more effective rehabilitation, and a more respectful framework for people whose bodies don’t conform to either end of the spectrum.
This understanding also challenges the assumption that hypermobility or hypomobility is static. Many people experience a shift over time - with previously loose areas becoming stiff (via fibrosis, inflammation, or repair attempts), or tight areas becoming more mobile with appropriate treatment.
In short:
A single connective tissue “diagnosis” does not capture the lived, layered, and regionally divergent truth of the body.
If you feel your body has never quite “added up” to what the textbooks describe - it’s not because you’re wrong.
It’s because the model is incomplete.
©️ - Neurotopia CIC 2026
