Muscle Relaxation Techniques

Welcome to the Friday forum, a question and answer forum where I share some of the most popular questions I get to try to help you understand your body more. 

This weeks question

It has been suggested that I get botox to help my tight muscles, but I am concerned about instability - what should I do?

My answer In many people with hypermobility, there is an interesting combination of underlying joint instability and compensatory muscle tightness. There are varying interventions aimed at reducing that muscle tightness, like massage, acupuncture, muscle relaxers and botox or trigger point injections. However, there is often a concern about taking away the only form of stability someone has. 

Like most things, the answer or outcome of this depends on the patient. For some patients, one or all of these interventions could lead to just the right amount of muscle relaxation to relieve the pain without causing further issues, for others, too much muscle relaxation could make them feel like a 'bobble head.' 

My suggestion would be to try these things in order from least invasive to most (massage, acupuncture/dry needing, muscle relaxers, botox injections) to see at what level you get some relief without any negative side effects. 

Most importantly, following up ANY of these interventions with some gentle, perhaps isometric exercise for the affected area is important. 

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