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Hypermobility is a genetic condition that involves extreme flexibility along with pain and other symptoms. While the exact cause of joint hypermobility syndrome is unknown, it is believed to be caused by weak or faulty collagen, which can be the result of genetic errors. This weak collagen results in weak connective tissue, which in turn causes loose joints and ligaments. This can lead to muscle weakness as the muscles have to work harder to keep the joints stable, resulting in muscle pain, soreness, and fatigue. This increased muscle tone can also result in a hypertonic state, where the muscles stay contracted and cannot fully relax, further contributing to muscle weakness. Additionally, hypermobility can cause digestive issues, such as gastroparesis, irritable bowel syndrome, and hernias, which can impact overall health and contribute to muscle weakness.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Cause | Genetic condition involving extreme flexibility and weak collagen |
| Symptoms | Pain, stiffness, fatigue, clumsiness, poor balance, digestive issues, dizziness, fainting, thin and stretchy skin |
| Treatment | Gentle, low-impact exercise, healthy diet, medication, physical therapy, occupational therapy, braces |
| Management | Improve joint and muscle strength, reduce strain, maintain a healthy lifestyle, protect joints |
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What You'll Learn
Weakened collagen causes muscle weakness
Joint hypermobility syndrome is a genetic condition that involves extreme flexibility along with pain and other symptoms. Hypermobility can cause a range of symptoms that often affect many parts of the body, including pain and stiffness in the joints and muscles.
Weakened collagen is believed to play a role in joint hypermobility syndrome. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, accounting for about 30% of the body's total protein. It provides structure, support, and strength to the skin, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues. In people with joint hypermobility syndrome, the ligaments that should make their joints stronger and support them are weak. This weakness is due to the collagen that strengthens the ligaments being different from that of other people.
Research suggests that people with hypermobile joints may have weak collagen in other parts of the body as well. This can be due to a defect in the collagen gene, resulting in decreased or abnormal collagen production. The genes passed down by ancestors can also affect collagen levels in the next generation. Additionally, modern lifestyle factors such as smoking can contribute to collagen deficiency.
Collagen VI-related dystrophy is a group of disorders that affect skeletal muscles and connective tissues. Variants in the COL6A1, COL6A2, and COL6A3 genes can cause various forms of this condition. These genes provide instructions for making components of type VI collagen, which is necessary for the stability and growth of muscle cells and connective tissue. A decrease in type VI collagen or the production of abnormal type VI collagen leads to an unstable extracellular matrix, resulting in progressive muscle weakness and contractures.
In summary, weakened collagen can cause muscle weakness and contribute to the symptoms associated with joint hypermobility syndrome. While there is no cure for this syndrome, symptoms can be managed by keeping muscles strong through gentle exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
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Hypertonic muscles from stabilising joints
Hypertonia, or hypertonicity, is a condition that causes abnormally increased resistance to externally imposed movement about a joint. It is often associated with damage to the central nervous system, specifically upper motor neuron lesions. This damage leads to impaired regulation of descending pathways, resulting in disordered spinal reflexes, increased excitability of muscle spindles, and decreased synaptic inhibition. Consequently, individuals with hypertonia experience an abnormal increase in muscle tone, which can manifest as rigidity or spasticity.
In the context of joint hypermobility, individuals may experience hypertonic muscles as a result of their body's attempt to stabilise the joints. Joint hypermobility syndrome is a genetic condition characterised by extreme flexibility and joint looseness, often due to weak or faulty collagen. The collagen defect affects the ligaments that normally provide stability and support to the joints. As a compensatory mechanism, the muscles surrounding these joints may become hypertonic, exhibiting increased resistance to movement in an effort to stabilise the hypermobile joints.
The presence of hypertonic muscles in individuals with joint hypermobility can lead to further complications. The increased muscle tension can contribute to pain and stiffness, particularly towards the end of the day or after physical activity. Additionally, it can affect proprioception, making it challenging for individuals to sense the position of their joints without visual input.
To manage hypertonic muscles and improve joint stability in the context of hypermobility, various treatments are available. Physiotherapy, including stretching exercises, can help reduce muscle excitability and improve range of motion. Inhibitory pressure, such as applying firm pressure over the muscle tendon, may also be beneficial. Additionally, splinting techniques can be valuable in extending the range of motion lost due to hypertonicity. Exercise, particularly gentle and low-impact activities like swimming or cycling, is crucial for improving joint and muscle strength and reducing strain.
It is important to note that the specific treatments and management strategies may vary depending on the individual's overall health, the severity of their hypermobility, and the presence of any associated conditions. Seeking guidance from healthcare professionals, such as physiotherapists, is essential for developing a comprehensive treatment plan.
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Poor posture and balance
People with hypermobility may also have a condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which causes dizziness, fainting, chest pain, shortness of breath, and shakiness. POTS is caused by blood vessels not restricting properly when someone with the condition stands up.
To improve posture and balance, it is recommended that people with hypermobility engage in physical therapy, hydrotherapy, and gentle exercises such as swimming or cycling. These can help to strengthen the joints and improve balance, reducing the risk of dislocations.
Occupational therapy can also help people with hypermobility to improve their posture and balance by teaching them alternative ways of carrying out everyday tasks that reduce strain on the joints. For example, using special grips to make holding a pen easier and improve handwriting.
Additionally, people with hypermobility can work on improving their breathing, noticing their habits and tensions, and improving their proprioception and stability to achieve better posture and balance.
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Increased risk of injury
People with hypermobility are at an increased risk of injury. Hypermobility is a genetic condition that involves extreme flexibility along with pain and other symptoms. The exact cause of joint hypermobility syndrome is unknown, but it tends to run in families. The genes involved in the creation of collagen are believed to play a role. Collagen is the protein that adds flexibility and strength to connective tissues such as joints, ligaments, and tendons.
People with joint hypermobility syndrome have loose joints because they have weak ligaments. They have weak ligaments because of a defect in their collagen. The collagen that strengthens the ligaments is different from that of other people. This weak collagen throughout the body makes people with hypermobility more susceptible to injuries, particularly to the muscular-skeletal system. Sprains, dislocations, and muscle tears are more likely.
The brain attempts to stabilize the joints by instructing the muscles surrounding the loose joints to increase their tone. This increased muscle tone can help improve joint stability. However, this can also result in the muscles staying in a hypertonic state. Hypertonic muscles do not fully relax but instead stay "on" all the time. This hypertonicity can become a problem because muscles that never relax are not able to use the muscle pumping mechanism to move waste products out of and nutrition into the muscle cells. This results in muscle pain, aching, and soreness from the accumulation of waste products or the lack of nutrition to the muscle cells.
Additionally, this can result in relative weakness in that once a muscle is fully contracted, it cannot contract more. This increased muscle tone is often not balanced around the joint. Ideally, the muscle forces around the joint would be balanced so that they would result in functional joint centration, allowing for the utilization of the maximum surface area contact within the joint with balanced co-activation of all the muscles around the joint. When muscle tone around the joint is not balanced, it can result in an increased risk of subluxation or injury as a result of focused compression and poor joint loading.
To reduce the risk of injury, people with hypermobility can engage in physical therapy and exercises to strengthen the muscles that hold their joints in place. Gentle and low-impact exercises such as swimming, cycling, pilates, and tai chi are recommended to reduce strain on the joints.
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Fatigue and pain
People with hypermobility may experience joint pain, muscle pain, and stiffness. They may also experience fatigue, which can be caused by the constant work of the muscles to maintain hypertonicity. This can result in physical exhaustion when performing daily tasks. The muscle pumping mechanism is also affected, as hypertonic muscles cannot fully relax, making it difficult to move waste products out and bring nutrition in.
To manage pain, people with hypermobility can try gentle, low-impact exercise, warm baths, and pain medication. For mild pain, over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be recommended. For more severe pain, stronger pain medication may be prescribed. In cases where painkillers are ineffective, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may be beneficial.
To reduce fatigue, it is important to improve joint and muscle strength. This can be done through regular, gentle exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating a healthy diet. It is also important to take breaks during exercise and not overextend joints.
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Frequently asked questions
Hypermobility, or Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (JHS), is a genetic condition that involves extreme flexibility along with pain and other symptoms. It is caused by weak collagen, which is the protein that adds flexibility and strength to your connective tissue.
Hypermobility can cause muscle weakness, yes. The brain attempts to stabilise loose joints by instructing the surrounding muscles to increase their tone, which can result in hypertonicity. Hypertonic muscles cannot fully relax, which can lead to muscle pain, soreness, and relative weakness.
To manage muscle weakness caused by hypermobility, you can try gentle, low-impact exercise, such as swimming, cycling, or pilates. Physical therapy can also help, but standard types of physical therapy may be harmful, so it is important to seek out a therapist who is familiar with hypermobility.
