Elbow Hyperflexibility: Origin, Signs, Potential Issues
Hypermobility, a condition characterised by extended or extra flexibility in joints, is often colloquially referred to as being double-jointed. This condition can affect any joint in the body, including the elbows, although the number of people with double-jointed elbows specifically is unclear.
Symptoms of Double-Jointed Elbows
Common symptoms of hypermobile elbows include joint pain, instability, occasional subluxations or dislocations, a feeling of looseness, and sometimes swelling or stiffness. These symptoms can lead to difficulty performing activities that require stable elbow function and may cause recurrent injury or discomfort.
In addition to elbow-related symptoms, people living with hypermobility syndrome disorder may experience fatigue, stomach pain, and dizziness. Clicking joints can also be a symptom of having a double-jointed elbow. Proprioception, the inability to sense the position of the elbow or other hypermobile joint, can also be a symptom.
Causes of Hypermobility
Hypermobility can be caused by a variety of factors, including genetics, sex assigned at birth, ethnicity, age, muscle tone, and certain conditions such as autism, ADHD, or Tourette's syndrome.
Treatments for Double-Jointed Elbows
Treatments for hypermobile elbows primarily focus on physical therapy and lifestyle modifications.
Physical therapy emphasises strengthening the muscles around the elbow to improve dynamic joint stability. Supervised exercise programs, tailored to avoid hyperextension and promote joint support, are used. Techniques include strengthening and stretching exercises, manual therapy to reduce stiffness, and activity modification to lower strain on the joint.
Medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be used to manage pain temporarily but are not the primary treatment.
Lifestyle changes involve avoiding activities that cause pain or hyperextension, adopting ergonomic tools (e.g., keyboards, voice control), and engaging in low-impact sports like swimming or cycling to maintain fitness without stressing the joints.
Bracing can offer temporary support to unstable elbows during activities.
Hypermobile Spectrum Disorder (HSD)
Hypermobile elbows can be a manifestation of a broader condition known as hypermobile spectrum disorder (HSD). HSD includes generalised joint hypermobility with associated symptoms like musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and joint instability. Treatment strategies for hypermobile elbows overlap substantially with general management of HSD, focusing on muscle strengthening and joint protection to reduce symptoms and improve function.
Links to Other Disorders
Hypermobility syndrome disorder may be linked with disorders such as autonomic dysfunction, depression, fibromyalgia, autism, anxiety, and mast cell activation disorders.
In summary, hypermobile elbows can cause pain and instability often related to hypermobility spectrum disorders. Treatment primarily focuses on physical therapy and lifestyle modifications, with the aim of strengthening muscles and protecting joints to reduce symptoms and improve function.
- People with hypermobile elbows may experience other joint pain, indicating a possible link to Hypermobile Spectrum Disorder (HSD), a condition characterized by generalized joint hypermobility accompanied by associated symptoms like musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and joint instability.
- Apart from symptoms related to the elbow, individuals with HSD might also experience mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and autonomic dysfunction.
- To manage the chronic-diseases and symptoms of hypermobile elbows, science and medical-conditions have developed several therapies-and-treatments, including physical therapy, medications, and lifestyle changes.
- These treatments often focus on painmanagement by strengthening the muscles around the affected joints through supervised exercise programs, thereby improving health-and-wellness and fitness-and-exercise without causing further strain.
- In some cases, bracing may provide temporary support to unstable elbows during activities, aiding in the overall management of this medical-condition.
