hypermobility

Melissa Yeomans

Good days and the not so good days

The past year has not been the greatest for me. Since being diagnosed with Hypermobility it has been a bit of hit and miss action to figure out how to move forward. For the past year I have been on a muscle relaxant to try to counteract the tight muscles so that I could spend more time at the gym and just doing things in general.  Unfortunately this lead to other issues along with some trouble from when I fractured my foot a few years ago.  My muscles often transfer the tight spots, which means the treatment moves week by week.

The irony now being that I actually ended up doing less at the gym whilst I tried to get my muscles activating as they should to even walk let alone up and down stairs. I basically lost all strength in my left leg as it transferred the issue between the glute, knee, ankle and foot.  Taping up the foot and knee weekly with acupuncture has been a massive help to re-train it all.

So the decision to come off the muscle relaxants has been a tough one. With so many pros and cons. It has now been almost two months off them and even though some days have been hard I have been able to retrain muscle groups with the help of Physio, Pilates and Weights.

I must admit I am now trialling on the bad days a more healthy option of Turmeric. I do like the idea of not permanently being on something so fingers crossed.

Unfortunately the timing has not been great on this road to health and fitness as I head off to Goolwa in South Australia next week for some umpiring.  I just hope the work I have done in the last two months means I hold together.  I feel at the moment my core strength is almost the best it has been despite the lack of overall fitness.  Which hopefully means I can work on that when I get back.  In the last two weeks I have managed to jump on the bike and do some interval and resistance training which has been AMAZING! Last time I tried that over a year ago I ended up barely able to stand up straight as my Hip Flexors just reacted so badly.

Enough about the journey of trying to manage HMS. Bring on the road trip and driving to Goolwa! Two days on the road followed by umpiring some great sailing at the 2016 DeckHardware Australian Secondary Schools Team Sailing Nationals.

Melissa Yeomans

Yes I am Hypermobile

This morning I visited the Royal North Shore Hospital to get a little more on paper about my Hyper-mobility.  Up until recently I have been relying on my physio to tell me what it is that is the problem.  However my doctor wanted a little more information before looking into treatment and management of Hyper-mobility.   So the good news is I do have Benign Hyper Mobility which is what we thought.  The other great news is at this stage it looks like I do not have any of the major side affects.  I guess you are wondering what it is?

“Benign hypermobility joint syndrome — or BHJS — is a common source of joint or muscle complaints by children and young adults. Benign hypermobility describes looseness of joints that may be associated with daytime pain, nighttime awakening, or discomfort after exercise. People with the condition generally report prolonged pain. In the past, this type of general pain often was called “growing pains” or “limb pain,” which can be similar. Both, though, are different disorders. The term “benign” has been used to differentiate the BHJS from other similar disorders that also involve other organs such as the eyes and heart.

 How Is Benign Hypermobility Joint Syndrome Diagnosed?

Assessment of children or young adults suspected of having BHJS does not require special equipment. Testing the range of motion of your child’s joints will determine if they are more loose than normal. Several specific mobility tests are used for diagnosing BHJS, including:

  • The wrist and thumb can be moved downward so the thumb touches the forearm.
  • The little fingers can be extended back beyond 90 degrees.
  • When standing, the knees are abnormally bowed backward when viewed from the side.
  • When fully extended, the arms bend further than normal (beyond straight.)
  • When bending at the waist, with the knees straight, the child or adult can put his or her palms flat on the floor.”  linky for this info

Where to next?

So from here the next step is to keep going as normal.  Lots of pilates and physio which unfortunately come at a cost which is hard when working for a small family business.  Plus now I can speak to my doctor about how to better manage the pain side of it.  The Fatigue is an interesting side affect also.  I am hopeful that as ALL of my muscles get stronger through Pilates it will help with the fatigue that I sometimes feel.   It is good to know that some of the things I have come across over the years were indeed all side affects of the Hyper Mobility including my low blood pressure and dizzy feelings when I was a teenager.  People used to laugh when I would eat salt!  Guess I really am a salt water baby after all! haha.  

It turns out I should have kept sailing 5 days a week and hitting up the gym a couple of days also.  Not sure how I was meant to fit that in with life and work!   The main reason I was not diagnosed when younger like most is because I was so strong and that kept the pain away!  So once this core of mine is a bit happier I am definitely going to be back out on the water.  Sailing is clearly going to be part of the management process of my hyper mobility.