sudden onset of hypermobility

[mountainstrider]

(1) I'm 22, male, and was recently diagnosed with BJHS. Have always had doublejointed fingers but these have never given me any problems. Have never been hypermobile or hyperlax any where else until last year when, in a 5 month period, both knees suddenly became very loose, bowing to sides and back, and both feet went flat. Has anyone else experienced a sudden onset of hypermobility like this?
(2) Physicians are claiming it is genetic, but how can this be if it just happened? No one else in my family is hypermobile in the least. All the literature I can find on BJHS talks of patients with life-long hypermobility and/or hyperlaxity who suddenly develop pain, but no mention of patients who develop pain first, followed by hypermobility and hyperlaxity. What other causes are there aside from genetics?
(3) Where do I find medical documentation to support this? I'm in the military and the powers-to-be are trying to kick me out without any disability because they claim that BJHS is genetic.

[Heather M.]

I'm someone who doesn't have a hypermobility syndrome, but I do have what my OS calls 'gross joint hypermobility.'  This means that my major joints (hips, shoulders, knees, spine) are hypermobile, but not really my fingers, toes, etc.  

I was told that over the years I would suffer 'microtraumas' due to the joint moving beyond the normal range; this would involve microtears to the ligaments/tendons, stretching, even damage to the articular cartilage from poor mechanics.

I was also told that strong, well-balanced muscles could help keep everything in place.  If you worked out overly hard and did things in a way that stressed certain muscles over others, I could see how this would cause an onset of symptoms.  Or it could be that your joints were a ticking time bomb all along, and you've just reached the point of paying the piper.  I did that--I babied my knee along until I was 31, then tore the meniscus doing Yoga--I wasn't even doing a Gumby move, it was a pretty simple one.  With that one injury, I quickly entered a cycle of surgeries and rehab that finally stopped after seven procedures.  And I need further work, probably culminating in a knee replacement within 10-15 years.

Anyway, I don't believe there's a way to acquire hypermobility--it truly is something you were born with.  But improper training can certainly make a sleeper genetic condition worse.  It only takes a small amount of trauma to trigger full onset of symptoms.  So it's probably that you had the syndrome all along, but due to age and level of fitness you weren't feeling the pain.  Unfortunately, the microtraumas that are associated with being hypermobile are cumulative, and they will eventually catch up with most people.  

It's entirely likely that you were always hypermobile and had joint laxity, but either recently reached the point of no return with microtraumas, or there was some change in your muscle development, or possibly even some hormonal/chemical change in your body that is a normal part of the aging process.  Female hormones like estrogens are closely linked to ligamentous laxity in order to prepare women's bodies for childbirth, and men do have low levels of these hormones.  Many scientists believe that there are environmental estrogens that affect men negatively...I'm really not an expert in the area of endocrinology, but is it possible that you are simply going through normal chemical changes as your body matures and this has disrupted some balance that previously kept things in check...?

I think if you do a lot of research on hypermobility syndromes you will find that they are genetic in that you are born with them.  But that doesn't mean that you can draw a direct link from a parent or relative with it--it may be a double recessive gene or something.  As far as I know, there are no real causes of hypermobility aside from genetics--but that is hypermobility in the true sense of the word (i.e. the so-called double-jointedness that allows people to do party tricks).  It's conceivable that you can exercise and stretch to the point of being extremely flexible, but I don't think this is the same thing as acquiring hypermobility.

Sorry that I can't be of much help, but it is generally accepted that hypermobility is something you're born with, and the military probably has sufficient information to prove this.  The best thing you can do is find an expert in HMS and see if he/she can help you build a case...unfortunately, most of these experts are geneticists.

Keep researching and don't lose hope.  It's possible to be hypermobile and not have a debilitating syndrome--my doctor says it just sets me up for osteoarthritis and joint wear & tear earlier than most people.  Certainly nothing that can't be lived with, and nothing like those who have a true hypermobility syndrome suffer with.

Heather

[Liz]

It's entirely likely that you were always hypermobile and had joint laxity, but either recently reached the point of no return with microtraumas, or there was some change in your muscle development, or possibly even some hormonal/chemical change in your body that is a normal part of the aging process.  

I agree with this 100%.  I have been hypermobile all my life, but I never really thought about it when I was younger because it never caused me problems.  I had the usual doublejointed fingers, etc. but we (including my doctor) didn't see it as anything to be concerned about.  However, since I've gotten a little older (I'm now 29) I've had various problems with both my knees, and just recently my right hip has been popping in and out.  Regular exercise and muscle building has helped me quite a bit, but going up and down stairs is still a bear.     I'm very sure this is all related to hypermobility, and specifically the items that Heather M mentioned.   My mother is also hypermobile, but just started having problems with her joints in the past 5 years or so.... she's 57.  So it can definitely happen later in life.

Sorry to hear they're causing you trouble... I hope things work out for you.

Liz

[Anguine]

I just read something about Lupus and developing mobility but don't have the reference.

However, look at:
http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/archdischild;80/2/188#B6

and here is a quote from that article above:
"Generalised joint laxity may follow in the wake of irreversible changes that occur in connective tissues in certain acquired diseases including acromegaly, hyperparathyroidism, chronic alcoholism, and rheumatic fever. "

The answer seems to be yes, that you can develop joint laxity.

[Swati]

I was also told that strong, well-balanced muscles could help keep everything in place.  If you worked out overly hard and did things in a way that stressed certain muscles over others, I could see how this would cause an onset of symptoms.  Or it could be that your joints were a ticking time bomb all along, and you've just reached the point of paying the piper. 

I don't find myself satisfying any of the Breighton's criteria but two Pt's have told me I have hypermobile joints. I have clicking/grinding in knees, neck, shoulder, hip ankle, wrists and elbow and pain in knees, shoulder and elbow. Abt 35 sessions with two PT's each with little to no results. Can't afford more actually nor do i want to.

I have never had hyperextension or more flexibility in any of the joints until August 2013 (I'm 25 now). Pain in knee started last year after a brutal regime of exercises (possibly imbalanced and with poor form). And then more and more joints started getting affected. I lend a belief that it could be genetic but my conscious activities triggered the hypermobility. Funnily, now even my jaws have started making tiny noises since a month.

Anyway, I don't believe there's a way to acquire hypermobility--it truly is something you were born with.  But improper training can certainly make a sleeper genetic condition worse.  It only takes a small amount of trauma to trigger full onset of symptoms.  So it's probably that you had the syndrome all along, but due to age and level of fitness you weren't feeling the pain.

I'm curious if I woke up my sleeping genes, then is it possible to put it back to sleep by proper training. I'm planning to start training in a gym now without any physical therapy on which I have lost faith.
 

It's entirely likely that you were always hypermobile and had joint laxity, but either recently reached the point of no return with microtraumas, or there was some change in your muscle development, or possibly even some hormonal/chemical change in your body that is a normal part of the aging process.  Female hormones like estrogens are closely linked to ligamentous laxity in order to prepare women's bodies for childbirth, and men do have low levels of these hormones.  Many scientists believe that there are environmental estrogens that affect men negatively...I'm really not an expert in the area of endocrinology, but is it possible that you are simply going through normal chemical changes as your body matures and this has disrupted some balance that previously kept things in check...?

I have PCOS, meaning messed up hormones. I keep reading abt it and find that it is possible for environmental estrogens to affect women as well. Messed up hormones could also be a factor in my case.

[Silkncardcrafts]

There is no such thing as sudden onset hypermobility.

It is something you are born with, but can rear its ugly head later in life or after some kind of trauma like it did with me.

In my early 20's my knee surgeon diagnosed me with Hypermobility Syndrome but in 2011 I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility type (EDS-HM).

When you have Hypermobility Syndrome or EDS-HM generally speaking only functional exercise tends to work.