Hyper mobile joints

[keane]

Hi there - anyone have a child/baby with hyper mobile joints? My youngest just been diagnosed & I am keen to research, swap tips/advice with someone who has been/is going through similar. My youngest is 18 months.

[EDmummy]

Hi Keane, there's some information here http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,613687,634709#msg-634709 which you may find useful.

If you also look for threads on the forum on dyspraxia and DCD you may also find some useful information.

Please PM me if you think it would be useful.

[bornagain]

My daughter has hypermobility. She is 12. It is a condition with a huge spectrum from being bendy and agile to having serious other health issues. EDmummy's link has some very good (but scary) info. The good news is that majority of hypermobile people are at the good end.

My daughter is at the asymptomatic end and in fact in some respects it's a blessing. She is very good gymnast, able to do splits etc with no problems. I think it's recommended that a hypermobile person does these sports such as gymnastics, dance, swimming/diving, martial arts to improve their core strength as better the muscle tone the more they support the joints.

There is a hypermobility clinic at Great Ormond Street. The advice we got was for her to keep active and do the things that she loves! We saw a physiotherapist who gave her exercises to strengthen her muscles, particularly in calves as she complained of ankle pain if she walks for any length of time.

A couple of tips. Writing and holding a pen can be a problem as gripping can often hurt the joints. There is a brilliant site where you can order pens with special grips that really help. Basically, thicker the barrel the more comfortable they are.

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Stabilo-Easy.html

The other thing is footwear. Ankle boots are the way to go. We only discovered this since visiting the GOS clinic. Converse high tops, Kickers, hightop trainers. Anything that gives extra support is great.

Good luck! If my daughter is anything to go by she is proud of her hypermobility as it marks her out as being different in a good way.

[keane]

Thank you both - that is really useful & gives be something to get started on. I didn't know about the clinic at great ormond at so will see if I can get a referral there. Also will start looking into boots & shoes as she is 18 months & am finding that most shoes for this age aren't supportive enough. I was hoping she would get orthotics to put her ankles in the right position but so far have been told that they are moving away from orthotics as it can stop the foot getting stronger - though I am not convinced about this. Thanks so much for replying, am v grateful.