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There is so much material out there detailing every possible facet of Hypermobility Syndrome, so why, one may ask, have most Doctor's not heard of it and/or continue to ignore it? There are four major reasons why HMS is not taken seriously, but as you will see, all of these reasons can be easily dismissed. There is no excuse to be ignorant of HMS, it is a real threat affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals, so its time to do something about it – lets start spreading awareness and hope! 1) Myth - Hypermobility is a benign condition, so there is no incentive to diagnose it. Truth - When it was first identified in medical literature in the late 1960s, Hypermobility Syndrome was named 'Benign Joint Hypermobility,' because it was first noticed in patients who were 'double-jointed' but otherwise appeared to be perfectly healthy. Numerous studies in more recent years have linked HMS to very serious disorders such as fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis in ad...

There is a pathological family that falls under the discipline of Rheumatology, known as Heritable Disorders of the Connective Tissues. The individual pathologies vary widely in both severity and symptoms, and include disorders such as Marfan Syndrome (MFS), Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). One symptom that each of these disorders present with is joint hypermobility. It is advantageous for rheumatologist, then, to look for joint hypermobility first in all of their patients; if the patient does not display hypermobility then the doctor can safely rule out an entire class of disorders, and if the patient is in fact found to be hypermobile, the doctor will have a very specific idea of what is wrong and the course of treatment needed. The current methods employed to diagnose disorders such as MFS, EDS, and OI are both costly and time consuming – many tests such as blood work, X-rays and MRIs must be repeated to look at tighter and tighter parameters. Since ...

I had the distinct pleasure of having Dr. Brad Tinkle comment on my recent article out in the Fayetteville Observer. Brad Tinkle is arguably the most influential advocate for Hypermobility Syndrome in the US today. His book, Issues and Management of Joint Hypermobility: A Guide for the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Type and the Hypermobility Syndrome, is extremely helpful - it details a wide range of symptoms related to the disorder, and personally helped me make sense of my medical history - and is availible at Amazon.com. Please read his post, below. Brad T Tinkle, MD PhD - Chelsea's story is a sad one indeed and unfortunately repeated everywhere too many times. We need to advise healthcare workers and families that joint hypermobility is not a "gift" to be exploited especially in young athletes, and we had better work towards making a long term difference in their lives by re-teaching those to use their join...