Hypermobility Medicine

The body's connective tissues have the role of holding the skeleton in place while allowing controlled movement.  In hypermobile people these connective tissues and their proteins are differently formed, creating laxity in the joints, muscles, tendons, skin and/or ligaments.  Hypermobile patient's joints can be more prone to injury than the general population and a variety of conditions have been described.

When a person suffers from symptoms due to their hypermobility, they are said to have a Hypermobility Syndrome.  This can range from mild conditions including Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (BJHS) and Ehlers-Danlos Hypermobile Type, which can lead to increased incidence of injury, pain in joints and instability; to the more serious conditions including Marfan's Syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Vascular Type.  These rare conditions, depending on their severity, can affect the vital organs and the most severe types can be potentially life threatening.

There is an increased incidence of hypermobility in many sports including dancing and gymnastics, where additional flexibility can be an advantage, but can lead to increased injury requiring specialist management techniques.

The hypermobility specialists at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth are world renowned experts in the field of hypermobilty and sports medicine for hypermobile patients.  From diagnosing and assessing hypermobility syndromes to arranging treatments and management programmes for the full spectrum of hypermobility conditions and syndromes, our consultants are leaders in their field.

For further details of all our hypermobility consultants please click here