The Science Behind the Symptoms: EDS and Hypermobility

Dr. Howard Schubiner and Dr. Becca Kennedy sit down with Gigi Cockell to discuss her experience living with EDS and hypermobility and the chronic symptoms she experienced. Gigi shares her journey of searching for answers and how learning about neuroplastic symptoms helped her understand the role the brain can play in generating real physical pain and other conditions. Her story offers a hopeful perspective for others with EDS and hypermobility who may feel stuck in ongoing symptoms and are looking for a new way to approach recovery. Fransiska Malfait et al., “Classic Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome,” in GeneReviews®, ed. Margaret P. Adam et al. (University of Washington, Seattle, 1993), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books /NBK1244/. Anne De Paepe and Fransiska Malfait, “The Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome, a Disorder with Many Faces,” Clinical Genetics 82, no. 1 (2012): 1, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1399-0004.2.... Mark Scheper et al., “The Association between Muscle Strength and Activity Limitations in Patients with the Hypermobility Type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: The Impact of Proprioception,” Disability and Rehabilitation 39, no. 14 (2017): 1391–97, https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288 .2016.1196396. Cortney Gensemer et al., “Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes: Complex Phenotypes, Challenging Diagnoses, and Poorly Understood Causes,” Developmental Dynamics: An Official Publication of the American Association of Anatomists 250, no. 3 (2021): 318–44, https://doi.org/10 .1002/dvdy.220; Sabeeha Malek et al., “The Beighton Score as a Measure of Generalised Joint Hypermobility,” Rheumatology International 41, no. 10 (2021): 1707–16, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-021 04832-4. Able Lawrence, “Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome,” Indian Journal of Rheumatology, Soft Tissue Rheumatism, vol. 9 (2014): S33–36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injr.2014.0.... Gere Luder et al., “THU0622-HPR Discriminating Conditional and Functional Factors for Women With and Without Hypermobility—an Observational Study,” Poster Presentations, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 74, no. Suppl. 2 (2015): Suppl 2, https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2015 eular.1742. Peter R. Reuter and Kaylee R. Fichthorn, “Prevalence of Generalized Joint Hypermobility, Musculoskeletal Injuries, and Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain among American University Students,” PeerJ 7 (2019): e7625, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7625. Leslie N. Russek and Deanna M. Errico, “Prevalence, Injury Rate and, Symptom Frequency in Generalized Joint Laxity and Joint Hypermobility Syndrome in a ‘Healthy’ College Population,” Clinical Rheumatology 35, no. 4 (2016): 1029–39, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-015-29.... Darcisio Hortelan Antonio and Claudia Saad Magalhaes, “Survey Joint Hypermobility in University Students Aged 18-25 Years Old,” Advances in Rheumatology 58, no. 1 (2018): 3, https://doi.org/10.1186/s42358- 018- 0008-x.