If a joint moves more than average, it might be considered hypermobile. Hypermobility can affect a single joint, particularly after an injury like a sprain or dislocation. It can also be more widespread, which might just be normal for you, or it might be associated with another condition.
Measuring Hypermobility
Your osteopath will get a general feel for the way your joints move as part of your examination. For a more objective finding, they may use a measurement technique like the Beighton Scale. This is a list of nine joints that can quickly be tested for their range of movement. You can see the points in the image above.
Although the scale gives a good general idea of a person’s mobility, there are a lot of joints left untested. If, for example, your hips were very mobile but most other joints were not, you may get a very low Beighton score. This is why we consider movement generally and locally as well as through these tests.
Causes of Hypermobility
Some connective tissue disorders cause hypermobility. Ehlers Danlos is a condition with a number of different sub-types, some of which cause increased elasticity of connective tissue and skin. Marfan Syndrome is another genetic condition affecting soft tissues. Hypermobility is also more likely to affect people with Down Syndrome than the general population.
Joints lose flexibility as we age, and generally women are more flexible than men. As a result, we see more young women with hypermobile joints than men, although there are always exceptions. Most of the time, hypermobile joints are unrelated to other conditions, and are the result of a combination of genetics and activity.
Relevance to Other Problems
If you are hypermobile, the way we will help you manage your other musculoskeletal problems will be different.
Hypermobility causes laxity of some ligaments. You could compare this to how your ankle ligaments are a bit looser after a bad sprain. The whole area becomes less stable, so you have to compensate to keep it secure. The easiest way for the body to do this is to enlist the help of muscles that also act on the joint. They can stand in for the ligaments by limiting excess movement. However, if the demand is too much for the muscles, they will become symptomatic.
Where a joint is hypermobile, there may also be a predisposition to injury in the first place. Excessive movement is associated in the long term with osteoarthritis. As the ligaments allow too much movement, the instability may predispose them to sprains too.
Management
With all of this in mind, it makes sense that any treatment plan where hypermobility is involved will need an element of strengthening. Your osteopath will also need to take your hypermobility into account when treating other conditions. They will work with you to devise an exercise plan to strengthen the necessary areas. We know that the plan will need to be sustainable for you, which might mean tweaking the details as time goes on.
Alongside managing existing symptoms, we can also look for areas that may be impacted in the future. Preventative management may be appropriate for you.
Book an appointment for your hypermobility-related symptoms here.
