9 Ways to Test If You're Hypermobile - Fieldwork Health (2023)

FAQs

How do you test if you are hyper flexible? ›

Hypermobility tests

The Beighton Scale is a simple way of testing if your joints are hypermobile. It is broken down into 5 different movements and measures out of a total of 9 points. You are generally considered to be hypermobile if you have a score of 5/9 or more.

A positive Beighton score for adults is 5 out of the 9 possible points; for children, a positive score is at least 6 out of 9 points. As joint mobility is known to decrease by age for adults, include historical information by asking, “Can you now or have you previously been able to…”

Subjects with a Beighton score lower than 5/9 were not clinically considered as EDS. However, they showed dermal abnormalities including FCF as described earlier [10–12, 18]. In addition, ultrastructural ECM abnormalities were presently found in asymptomatic or low Beighton score subjects of EDS family pedigrees.

Some people have problems caused by hypermobility, but do not have any of the specific EDS conditions. They may be diagnosed with hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD), which is treated in the same way as hEDS.

Hypermobile joints are common and occur in about 10 to 25% of the population, but in a minority of people, pain and other symptoms are present.

Conclusion: There is a relatively high incidence of inflammatory and structural lesions on MRI SIJ of patients with hypermobility. The presence of hypermobility should be taken into consideration when interpreting MRI changes in patients with suspected SpA.

7.2 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. EDS is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous heritable disorder characterized by abnormal collagen synthesis, and whose cardinal features include joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility, and soft connective tissue fragility [47].

Depending on the type of EDS, symptoms can range from loose joints to life-threatening complications. Those with hypermobile EDS (hEDS) often report experiencing brain fog.

If your hypermobility significantly affects your ability to walk or carry out daily living tasks, you might be eligible for Personal Independence Payments (or PIP).

Patients with EDS, especially those with EDS hypermobility type, are often misdiagnosed with conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or depression, given the overlap of symptoms and the psychosocial impact they have on the patient.

Can you have hypermobile EDS without stretchy skin? ›

Skin and Connective Tissue: People with hEDS do NOT have to have profoundly stretchy skin! Most notably, in hEDS, the degree of softness, stretchiness, fragility, bruisability, and poor wound healing of skin differs from “normal” subjects but is mild in comparison to other types of EDS.

In common with people who have other long-term conditions, many people with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) or hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) experience chronic fatigue.

"A "flare up" with EDS for me is extreme pain with my joints, a low grade fever, and subluxations of my fingers and other joints. "Today you are actually witnessing one of the longest flares I've had since being diagnosed.

While hypermobile EDS (hEDS) remains the only EDS without a confirmed cause, the criteria for hEDS diagnosis have been tightened compared to the 1997 Villefranche nosology as determined by international consensus. The essential difference between HSD and hEDS lies in the stricter criteria for hEDS compared to the HSD.

Rheumatology nurses play an important role in identifying patients who may have hypermobility, a condition marked by painful joints capable of a long range of motion, says Dr.

Inferior parietal cortex can affect proprioceptive awareness and hypermobility is itself linked to dyspraxia. Our findings suggest that processes compromising function in neuro-developmental conditions may occur in individuals with hypermobility, putatively enhancing vulnerability to stress and anxiety.

What are the causes of fatigue in symptomatic-hypermobile patients? In non-hypermobile people, joints are held firmly in place by the ligaments. Current thought is that in hypermobile people their ligaments tend to be more stretchy, therefore, muscles have to take on part, or all, of the work in order to compensate.

Hypermobility had a significant effect on the balance tests (p<0.001). Conclusion: The balance problem was found to be significantly higher in FMS patients with hypermobility than in those without hypermobility and in the healthy controls.

Genetic tests on a sample of your blood can confirm the diagnosis in rarer forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and help rule out other problems. For hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the most common form, there is no genetic testing available.

Conclusions: The most consistent association of eye anomalies in the JHS/EDS-HT group included xerophthalmia, steeper corneas, pathologic myopia, and vitreous abnormalities, as well as a higher rate of minor lens opacities.

What other conditions are linked to hypermobility? ›

People who have been diagnosed with Hypermobile EDS may also experience bladder and bowel problems such as stress or urgency incontinence or intestinal dysmotility.

It's not uncommon for those with Hypermobility and EDS to have difficulty getting into a comfortable sleeping position.

“People with hypermobility should avoid getting to the end range of an exercise,” Verstegen says. For example, maintaining a micro bend in the elbows at the top of a pushup rather than fully extending the elbows.

If you're disabled or have a health condition that affects your mobility, you can apply for a Blue Badge. You can also apply for a badge if you care for a child with a health condition that affects their mobility.

Don't lift more than you can control

When you're strength training with hypermobility, more is not better; the right amount is better. So, this means that if you need to start with active movement, with no weight because that makes your muscles tired, then do it.

Inherent flexibility makes it relatively easy for hypermobile people to perform certain physical activities. According to McCormack et al. (³⁷), JH may be an advantage for gymnasts and for cricket spin bowlers. It also facilitates the performance of acrobatics, contortionism, yoga (²⁰), and diving (⁷).

Most medical doctors should be able to diagnose EDS and HSD. However, because the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes are genetic disorders, primary care physicians often provide their patients with referrals to a geneticist.

For a child to be affected both parents must pass on an EDS gene. With each pregnancy there is a 25% chance that each child will have the disorder.

The rheumatologist can play an important role in the diagnosis of EDS and is central to the ongoing management of many EDS patients.

How does Ehlers-Danlos affect hair? ›

The defects of the collagen previously reported in EDS account for the increased extensibility of the skin (1, 2). It is possible that the altered skin structure results in increased pliability of the skin which may allow the hair follicles to expand.

Abnormalities of the nails are frequently seen in clinical practice although there has been no specific study of these in people with EDS. Difficulty with hand function, coupled with painful upper and lower limb joints, may also make it difficult for someone to reach and cut their toenails.

Thus, some affected individuals may have a characteristic facial appearance. Cheeks are often taught and hollow. Lips and nose are often thin. Eyes are relatively prominent.

It can result in a loss of muscle mass required for joint stability, cardiovascular deconditioning which can exacerbate POTS and fatigue, and result in reduced tissue tolerance for loads and postures. This ultimately makes daily activities more difficult during and after a flare.

Fatigue is a common symptom of patients with EDS and is associated with poor sleep, greater psychologic distress, and sleep disruption. Other associated conditions that can interfere with sleep quality are chronic pain,⁷,⁸ dysautonomia,⁹ and psychiatric disorders.

Many people with EDS have autonomic dysfunction, which can cause sweating to appear at ridiculous times, especially at night. It's not a small amount of sweat either, and many of us have to get out of bed to change our clothes and sheets.

Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) are a heterogeneous group of hereditary connective tissue disorders characterized by joint hypermobility, widespread musculoskeletal pain and tissue fragility. Psychiatric disorders and psychosocial impairment are common, yet poorly characterized, findings in EDS patients.

To reduce complications of skin fragility and promote wound healing, individuals with EDS-HT should take 750–1000 mg/day vitamin C and 1500 mg/day of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) plus silica 3 mg/day [82].

For us with EDS/HSD, there is not much evidence specifically targeted at our hypermobile bodies. But there is evidence supporting that cold weather/bad weather can increase pain to the joints in patients with arthritis, which is a common comorbidity of EDS.

Thick bands of tissue (ligaments) hold your joints together and keep them from moving too much or too far out of range. In people with joint hypermobility syndrome, those ligaments are loose or weak. If you have joints that are more flexible than normal and it causes you pain, you may have joint hypermobility syndrome.

Can fibromyalgia be mistaken for hypermobility? ›

Some patients who exhibit fibromyalgia symptoms clinically but do not meet the ACR criteria could actually have joint hypermobility misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia and Hypermobility: The Parallel of Symptoms

Fatigue is a major symptom in patients with “fibromyalgia,” but it is also a symptom amongst patients with hypermobility.

Joint hypermobility syndrome is a common cause of chronic pain and fatigue seen in at least 3% of the general population. Patients may also present with headaches, anxiety, orthostasis, and abdominal pain. Providers can use the Beighton Score and Brighton Criteria to screen for joint hypermobility syndrome.

Joint hypermobility is a common connective tissue variant, reportedly overrepresented in Autism. Alexithymia is a personality construct characterised by altered emotional awareness which has notably high rates of overlap with autism spectrum disorder.

The most common test to assess joint hypermobility is the Beighton scoring system, which uses a nine-point scale to measure joint hypermobility. Doctors assess five different joint movements, four of them on both sides of the body.

The main cause of HSD and hEDS is genetics. Hypermobility often runs in families and therefore cannot be prevented. It is believed that if one parent has hypermobility one in two children will also have it. Someone who has HSD or hEDS often has faulty or weak collagen.

There are many different types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, but the most common signs and symptoms include: Overly flexible joints. Because the connective tissue that holds joints together is looser, your joints can move far past the normal range of motion. Joint pain and dislocations are common.

Hypermobility is when your joints are too flexible. Joints are areas of your body where two bones meet. Most joints bend, letting your body move. Some examples of joints are your shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, knees, ankles, and toes.

“People with hypermobility should avoid getting to the end range of an exercise,” Verstegen says. For example, maintaining a micro bend in the elbows at the top of a pushup rather than fully extending the elbows.

Is hyper flexibility a disability? ›

Is my hypermobility syndrome a disability? Some people are disabled by their hypermobility, other people are not. Symptoms can also change over time, so some people may go through periods of being disabled and periods of not being disabled by their condition. It all depends on how you personally are affected.

Some people with hypermobility also develop neuropathic pain, which may be felt as burning, stinging, tingling, shooting, numbing, etc. Sometimes such pain is caused by disc problems, but often it is quite localized or does not follow the usual patterns of pinched nerves.

Hypermobility is a frequent sign of hereditary disorders of connective tissue (e.g., Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, Marfan syndrome), in which the main characteristic is the multisystem fragility that prone to proprioceptive and motor coordination dysfunction and hence to trauma and chronic pain.

You don't have to be able to twist yourself up like a pretzel to be considered flexible, though. "[I]f you can touch your toes, that means that you have pretty good flexibility," Franklin Antoian, a personal trainer and the founder of iBodyFit.com told INSIDER. Stand up, bend at your waist, and try to touch your toes.

Hypermobile EDS may contribute to SI joint dysfunction, low back pain, and hip pain by affecting the SI joints' ligaments and cartilage.