Stuff I Learned - 2nd Semester, Week #4
Initially I had returned to school to explore the interface of aerobic exercise and contemplative practices, though my personal interest in joint laxity quickly subsumed my other research questions. While I still hope to explore how aerobic exercise may (or may not) facilitate the recognition of Yoga (Union), I've found that the subject of joint laxity has fully drawn me in.
As a quick review of past blog postings, joint laxity is a trait that some people are born with. Loose joints are not something that you acquire through yoga practice... joint laxity is distributed via the birth-lottery. Interestingly, the yoga community does seem to be disproportionately populated by people with joint laxity. I'm guessing that this over-representation of hyper mobile people within yoga is based on a self-selection; yoga may be more interesting when loose joints allow you to move more deeply into poses, and for those without joint laxity - yoga may not be as interesting and/or rewarding.
Joint laxity has been shown to correlate with many conditions, such as chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and a greater incidence of autoimmune disease and anxiety. The latter, in particular, deeply interests me. Why is anxiety positively correlated to joint laxity? What are the mechanisms? What, if any, physical activities may help manage the challenges of joint laxity? And more relevant to my proposed research questions - what physical practices may offer the most relief for those that live with anxiety?
As part of my graduate studies, I've been reading a lot of academic papers about joint laxity, its incidence, and the various conditions that are related to joint laxity. Earlier this week I read a paper from France that I found interesting.
In this paper, the authors evaluated the joint laxity, affective state and body-awareness of a randomly selected group of undergraduates at a French university. There were several results from this study of join laxity concerning anxiety and internal body awareness, though I personally found one result the most interesting... the incidence of joint laxity within this cohort!
The prevailing view has been that joint laxity occurs in 10-15% of the population, with a greater incidence in females than in males. I've suspected that the incidence of joint laxity may be increasing, though I have not had much evidence to support this view.
While the rigor of this study left much to be desired, the authors found that joint laxity was present in almost 40% of the students that were tested! While I think it's premature to stand on the rooftops and shout that the incidence of joint laxity is increasing, I think that this study provides some initial evidence that the incidence of joint laxity may, indeed, be increasing.
And with the strong connection between joint laxity and anxiety, it seems like the reports of an increasing incidence of anxiety and the possibility of an increasing incidence of joint laxity may be related.
I look forward to delving more deeply into the neural mechanisms underlying joint laxity, and have recently submitted a proposal for funding my first experiments toward this end. I'll let you know what unfolds!
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| Hyperextended knees are common with joint laxity (Image from bandhayoga.com) |
As a quick review of past blog postings, joint laxity is a trait that some people are born with. Loose joints are not something that you acquire through yoga practice... joint laxity is distributed via the birth-lottery. Interestingly, the yoga community does seem to be disproportionately populated by people with joint laxity. I'm guessing that this over-representation of hyper mobile people within yoga is based on a self-selection; yoga may be more interesting when loose joints allow you to move more deeply into poses, and for those without joint laxity - yoga may not be as interesting and/or rewarding.
Joint laxity has been shown to correlate with many conditions, such as chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and a greater incidence of autoimmune disease and anxiety. The latter, in particular, deeply interests me. Why is anxiety positively correlated to joint laxity? What are the mechanisms? What, if any, physical activities may help manage the challenges of joint laxity? And more relevant to my proposed research questions - what physical practices may offer the most relief for those that live with anxiety?
As part of my graduate studies, I've been reading a lot of academic papers about joint laxity, its incidence, and the various conditions that are related to joint laxity. Earlier this week I read a paper from France that I found interesting.
In this paper, the authors evaluated the joint laxity, affective state and body-awareness of a randomly selected group of undergraduates at a French university. There were several results from this study of join laxity concerning anxiety and internal body awareness, though I personally found one result the most interesting... the incidence of joint laxity within this cohort!
The prevailing view has been that joint laxity occurs in 10-15% of the population, with a greater incidence in females than in males. I've suspected that the incidence of joint laxity may be increasing, though I have not had much evidence to support this view.
While the rigor of this study left much to be desired, the authors found that joint laxity was present in almost 40% of the students that were tested! While I think it's premature to stand on the rooftops and shout that the incidence of joint laxity is increasing, I think that this study provides some initial evidence that the incidence of joint laxity may, indeed, be increasing.
And with the strong connection between joint laxity and anxiety, it seems like the reports of an increasing incidence of anxiety and the possibility of an increasing incidence of joint laxity may be related.
I look forward to delving more deeply into the neural mechanisms underlying joint laxity, and have recently submitted a proposal for funding my first experiments toward this end. I'll let you know what unfolds!
Comments
that speeded my recovery. It is an exercise working with the VOR vestibular Ocular Reflex. Rather than describe it here, you can google the exercise.
What a profound effect this simple exercise had on my recovery. Not only my physical symptoms were relieved but my emotional experience shifted as well. Here's the punch line in looking for movement or postural patterns that address both physical and emotional issues. Could reflex triggers or multiple neural input mechanisms dive closer to the root of both issues simultaniously?
Use 2 tools at once? Hold with the vice grips and turn with the crescent wrench at the same time? facinating stuff! Good luck with it all! Phil
I wanted to offer a bit on info for you, as you seek to understand the connection between joint laxity and chronic pain and anxiety. In Ayurveda, those with a Vata constitution tend to have looser ligaments and more prominent joints, which tend to crack a lot. They also are more susceptible to joint pain and anxiety. It would be interesting to add a dosha test to the other research to discover how many of these people are Vata.
Love and Light, Johnna Langlo