Joint Hypermobility, Hypermobility syndrome and EDS hypermobility- Who gets it and where from?

“Why me?” is a question I frequently ask when I’m nursing a shoulder or a hip that feels like it has just come back from war. Before I really knew about hypermobility syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos, I thought I was just spectacularly unlucky to have these bendy joints and stretchy party tricks. No one seemed to have heard of these conditions and doctors seemed to find a million other possibilities for the pain.  This actually made it feel worse in hindsight. Not knowing why you are in pain or where it has come from only seems to make everything feel more gloom and doom. The realisation that actually, this is more common than you might initially think and has most likely been passed on through genes at least brings some logic and understanding into play.

Abnormal collagen provides strong evidence that hypermobility, either in itself or in the form of the painful syndrome, can be inherited. In some families, members may be affected in different ways, often with people not knowing they were affected at all. In terms of passing it on to children, simply put, if only on parent is affected, then there is a 50/50 chance the child will be. However, hypermobility varies so much that there is no telling in which way children will be affected, if at all.

Inheriting joint hypermobility is not always the case, as it can be acquired by gymnasts and athletes through stretching and exercise.

Girls are affected more than boys. The reason for this is that female joints are more supple than men, particularly when younger. Women have a hormone called relaxin, which is responsible for the expansion of the pelvis during childbirth. The combination of mean the chance of having hypermobile joints is higher.

Recognising hypermobility in children is important, as there are exercises that encouraged and other things that are discouraged. See http://bend-trend-hms.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/joint-hypermobility-in-children.html

People who have Down’s syndrome are often hypermobile, but this isn’t to say that there is a link between this and hypermobility syndrome. http://bend-trend-hms.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/joint-hypermobility-in-children.html 

Ligaments are stretchy bands of tissue which hold bones together (in most cases). They are key to the movement of joints. They help to control the range of movement and are important for stability, allowing bones to move in proper alignment. Proteins make up the tissue in most ligaments, and these proteins are collagen. The collagen fibres tend to bind together as the body grows older, which can account for stiffness with old age. This means that hypermobility is more common in younger people and it is thought that the symptoms of the syndrome lessen with age. People who have hypermobile joints but not hypermobility syndrome are likely to find they become less flexible as they become older and can sometimes find stretching painful as they move into their 30s and 40s. Each case is very individual, so it is hard to predict exactly what will become of hypermobile joints in different people.

Ethnicity can also play a role. People of different ethnic backgrounds have different ranges of joint mobility. This can mean different structures of the collagen protein.

Ehlers-Danlos hypermobility type can be established by looking at family history as well as clinical examination.