The first time I ever drew attention to my joints was at a
barbecue when I was nine. I was leaning on one arm laying on the grass, when a
family friend who was medically trained asked if I had problems with the way
that my arms bend. I had never noticed or been asked before, but from then on I
began to realise that my joints did things other people couldn’t do. My hands
can turn all the way around when on a flat surface, and my arms look almost
backwards when I straighten them, as shown below. My right arm and shoulder was
the first joint to become painful and remains the most problematic. It is very
loose and causes aches and clicks and general pain most days. I struggle to
carry things and have trouble sitting at my desk at work to type. When I went
to physio they asked me to think back to being a child, to work out how long
the pains had really been happening. I did recall having pains in my shoulders
a lot when I first went to high school. These were dismissed as growing pains
and I never made a connection to my joints, as I had no idea hypermobility was
a thing.
My hips are becoming more problematic lately. My legs are
very flexible and I can place my feet on the back of my neck with ease. My
thumbs are also hypermobile, bending right back around onto the back of my
hand, as shown:
Despite these examples of bendy joints and being very
obviously flexible, my hypermobility was never picked up on. I took part in PE lessons, went to school and played like normal, enjoyed being active and was never held back by joint pain. The only sign of what was to come was the way my joints could bend and move. Not all hypermobile children will go on to suffer with the symptoms of the syndrome. It is possible to live with no pain or problems when you are hypermobile, but keeping active and fit is still important. I think had I
known when I was younger, I could have looked into physio and taken fitness
more seriously, as it is so important to strengthen muscles around loose and
hypermobile joints. Watching the way children sit and stand can indicate how
flexible they are, particularly as they grow older. This link from the American
college of rheumatology is another good source of help for paediatric
hypermobility. The links for finding doctors are for the USA, but the other
information applies to everyone.
Children who have hypermobile joints and are able to
exercise and be active without issues should be encouraged to do so. I did a
lot of physical activity as a child in way of swimming and ballet and didn't
experience pains. However as I got older, I became less interested in exercise,
especially at university, when exercise was replaced by pub crawls and lots of
mid-week dancing! I am now very aware that my muscles need to strengthen to
help support my joints and wish I had kept up swimming or tried harder to get
fit when I was younger. My parents were as clueless about hypermobility as me,
but if you have an inkling this applies to your child, get it checked. Keeping
fit will help no end, as long as they are able and (sort of) willing.
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