Hypermobilty Syndrome

NEW AT  

Hypermobility Clinic

Katie Ballard, Chartered Physiotherapist and KTB's Clinical Director has a specialist interest in connective tissue disorders and Hypermobility syndrome. Suffering herself from Hypermobility with Marfaniod Habitus she understands how it is to live with, and manage pain. She can truly empathise with her patients. Hypermobility is often poorly understood and misdiagnosed and therefore it helps to know you will be seen by a specialist with contacts in this specialist area so that you avoid inappropriate referrals and wrong management. Many patients spend years seeing various specialists without adequate explanations, therefore not understanding why you are in pain and why your general activities of daily living appear so tiresome. It is only once a diagnosis has been made that you can really begin to realistically manage your symptoms and see the pain reduce whilst slowly re starting those activities that you may have given up. Having the opportunity to discuss your problems with someone who can explain the reasons why you are hurting, why certain activities aggravate your pain, explain what to expect after treatment and what to do yourself, will calm your worries and make the pain appear more bearable. You will then have a lifeline to support you during the road of changing lifestyles and management techniques.

So what is Hypermobility?

An individual with Hypermobility is often referred to as being 'double jointed'. As a youngster, they can recall amusing their friends with positions of the limbs that others could not do. They report clicking joints, sometimes their joints coming out of place and general joints or muscles ache. As a child they may report having been clumsy, perhaps with poor hand-eye co-ordination and easy bruising. Usually those with hypermobile joints excel in sport with the hypermobility improving performance but they are more prone to injury and take longer to recover.

Basically, if you have hypermobility you will have ‘loose joints’. You have a deficiency of a protein called ‘collagen’ in your body that weakens your ligaments. Ligaments join bone to bone and therefore if you have less extensibility in the ligaments your joints lose support. This loss of support will put the joints through more strain and therefore you may be more susceptible to sprains and subsequently pain. Treatment of hypermobility syndrome is typically management. Reassurance from a specialist and a programme designed for your needs is needed to fit in with your lifestyle. Pilates is perfect as it increases awareness of posture and use of the body. It strengthens the body's core stabilising muscles that are really important if the ligaments are failing to give support. Certain joints may be more hypermobile than others and therefore certain exercises may be more relevant than others. General lifestyle change is always necessary to avoid aggravating the stress to the joints and guidance on more appropriate activities. The other important area of management is advice on pain relieving techniques such as the use of heat and TNS.

Could I have Hypermobility?

Hypermobility can be checked using the Beighton score. Try the following movements and score one point for each up to a maximum of 9 points. If you score highly you are hypermobile but you may not have pain because of this. We would then assess you further with specific questioning to ascertain the degree of which your flexibility may be causing you to have pain and whether you have the syndrome. There are more complications of Hypermobility such as Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or Marfans Syndrome. These are diagnosed by special tests and a thorough assessment. If we feel it is necessary then we will refer you to a specialist rheumatologist or back to your GP for investigations. For more detailed information you may wish to refer to the hypermobility association website at www.hypermobility.org