Hello! I have been a doctor for 21 years. My name is Georgy Olegovich Sapego. In this article I will tell you about my observations and explain how to test yourself for hypermobility.
In hypermobile joints, there is more mobility than necessary. Sometimes there is no harm in it. And even on the contrary, the benefit for some dancers or gymnasts. The problem is that the reason is not in the joints themselves, but in the connective tissue. It is not only in our joints.
Joint hypermobility can be in 10 - 20% of all people.
You can't suddenly get sick with this thing. It is already present from birth. This is better seen in children and women.
How does it manifest
Joints may hurt, there are often dislocations and other injuries, not everything is in order with the nerves, there are drops in blood pressure and pulse, problems with the intestines and bladder are more common. In short, this thing can ruin your life.
In most cases, the collagen protein that is responsible for all this is no different from the same collagen in other people. Therefore, joint hypermobility is not called a disease, but a syndrome. That is, we see manifestations, but under a microscope we cannot find something in such people.
So what's wrong
The joints of people with hypermobility do not work properly.
Proprioception is poorly developed. That is, the feeling of the position of your body in space.
They say that this is not entirely understandable, but personally, I have my own opinion on proprioception. It seems to me that when such mobile and flexible people fold themselves in four, then the brains are simply physically unable to track all these movements of joints in space. The nervous system receives different mutually exclusive signals, and so that the brains are not overloaded, the body simply cuts off some of the information.
It turns out that hypermobile people easily wrap their arms and legs in different directions, but they do not understand well where their limbs are at the moment.
It would even be funny if proprioception was not necessary for us to maintain balance.
Tucked legs
A good example of proprioception is a torn ligament at the ankle. Previously, such people were forbidden to step on their feet after an injury, but now, if there is no instability in the ankle joint, after a couple of days they are forced to do a bunch of special exercises.
This is necessary so that in the process of overgrowing the torn ligament, the neural connection between the surface on which we walk and the brain is preserved. If the connection is interrupted, the person will twist his legs over and over again. So you can break your head against the curb. This is how it is, this proprioception.
Pain
Everything is complicated here. Injuries, dislocations, stretched nerves hurt. In general, people with hypermobility are sensitive to pain.
You can fantasize on this topic in the sense that the body does not cope well with proprioception, does not understand where the joints are wrapped, and therefore makes the joints ache. Well, as it were, limits such people with pain. So that you don't wrap your arms and legs where you don't need to. The body beats them on the hands, so as not to indulge.
Weakness
She also happens often. It is believed that this is primarily due to prolonged pain and poor sleep due to the same pain.
Another weakness may be from a violation of the regulation of blood pressure. Have you noticed this? A thin girl with hypermobile joints stood up abruptly, and her eyes darkened. This is just such a violation of regulation.
Nerves
Anxiety and depression are common in people with hypermobile joints. Moreover, the tendency to these conditions is also hardwired into the genes.
Arms and legs
They hurt and dislocate easily from minor injury.
The wrists, ankles, shoulder and hip joints are most commonly affected.
The patella is also easily dislocated both outward and inward. Many people with hypermobile joints dislocate them freely.
Leather
She stretches easily with them. If you pinch the fold under the shoulder blade and pull it, it will stretch out almost half a meter.
The skin is translucent. Veins and tendons are clearly visible through it.
Scars on such skin are wide and sunken.
The skin is easily injured.
Abdomen and bladder
Hernias appear easily. The intestines are also not all right. They have either constipation, or diarrhea, or cramps.
The bladder is often mischievous.
How to check yourself
This is the most interesting thing. There is a questionnaire with nine items:
- Bend back the little finger on the right hand. If it bends back more than 90 degrees, then this is a plus sign.
- They also check the little finger on the left hand.
- They grab the thumb on the right hand with their left hand and, bending the right wrist, try to pull the thumb to the forearm. If it worked out, then this is another plus sign.
- They also try to tighten the thumb on the left hand.
- They look at the elbows. If the elbow on the right hand is overextended by more than 10 degrees, then he gets a plus sign.
- The same for the left hand.
- Ditto for the right knee.
- Ditto for the left knee.
- And the last: from a standing position, they bend forward and try to reach the floor with their palms without bending their knees. If it works out, then this is a plus sign.
Nine points in total. There are nine plus signs. If the plus signs are only four, then you can already call your joints hypermobile.
If you find something similar, then be sure to tell your doctor about it. There are many features that the doctor should know and take into account.
Like and subscribe to my channel. Check out my articles on related topics:
Elbows, wrists and fingers: how you can damage small joints
How to properly protect the joints in the hands
How to protect your leg joints
Tricks for leg joints
