EDS without being overly flexible?

[Knellie]

Hey Everyone!!

   I was just wondering if you could have EDS without being like double-jointed and stuff? Because everyday I have a knee or a hip or a shoulder popping out of place, and when I sneeze almost always throw a rib out. I also have really bad stretch marks all over my body. My joints also just hurt a lot in general, and when I go to the chiropractor he says I look like I've been in a car accident and I never have. When he puts everything back in place its out again within minutes. If this isn't EDS, then does anyone know what it is? Thanks in advance!!

[Pistol]

@Knellie - I am not speaking as someone who knows the answer but in my experience: yes. I was super flexible as a kid but never considered it out of the ordinary. I developed severe HPOTS when I was 42, and my sister ( who also has POTS ) recently underwent extensive genetic and autonomic testing. She has the genetic type of EDS, and POTS runs in the females of the last 3 generations of my family. I also dislocate my ribs frequently. So - assuming that the EDS might be present in all of the females affected by POTS in my family - I guess you can have it without being a contortionist. IMO. 

[Chiara]

I have dysautonomic disorder, SFN and hypermobility, but not EDS. Often my chiropractioner  tells me the same. My orthopadic explained me, in the elder age, hypermobility develops often back into much more normal states. So it's difficult to get a diagnosis about 50. I make a lot of physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic. It's important to reduce the side effects of hypermibility like pain... 

[cmep37]

I think there are 13 different types of EDS - hypermobility is only usually found in one of them (hEDS) although it is by far the most common type.  However dislocations/subluxations like you describe are usually associated with hEDS. This is a good (although long sorry!) article on how you meet the criteria for being diagnosed with hEDS.  hEDSvHSD_tinkle edits_3142017 (ehlers-danlos.com)  The requirements differ depending on your age - as @Chiarasays if you are older, and especially if your joints have suffered a lot of trauma, you may no longer be hypermobile but you will usually have a history of hypermobility.  At 42 I still score 8/9 on the Beighton test but would have scored the full 9 up to my late 20s (my hamstrings are now too tight to get my hands flat on the floor when I bend at the waist although I can almost make it!).   If you do have hEDS the most important thing is PT - I'm afraid there isn't really any other treatment apart from making sure you have adequate pain relief.

[GasconAlex]

Quote

We usually  associate  hypermobility  with  flexibility,  but  some  hypermobile  people  may  not present  as  particularly  flexible  and  may  complain  of  stiffness  and  tightness.  This  is  often because  muscles  are  not  working  in  an  efficient  way;  they  are,  instead,  having  to  work overtime  to  try  to  stabilize  and  support  the  joints,  causing  them  to  go  into  a  state  of extreme  muscular  tension.   Smith,  2017 

This is from an article about EDS (not sure of where the full research is as this bit was quoted in a different article. 

I have not been diagnosed with EDS (but have got relatives with this diagnosis) was very flexible up to about 10 and then became very inflexible. I have problems with stability in my joints with frequent subluxations which causes my physio lots of issues as she has to take care not to dislocate the joints whilst trying to keep range of motion. She considers all my joints hyper lax but my muscles work overtime to compensate.

[MikeO]

15 minutes ago, GasconAlex said:

We usually  associate  hypermobility  with  flexibility,  but  some  hypermobile  people  may  not present  as  particularly  flexible  and  may  complain  of  stiffness  and  tightness.  This  is  often because  muscles  are  not  working  in  an  efficient  way;  they  are,  instead,  having  to  work overtime  to  try  to  stabilize  and  support  the  joints,  causing  them  to  go  into  a  state  of extreme  muscular  tension

I have been wondering about the extreme muscular tension. i have not been diagnosed with anything remotely hypermobile. I have had issues with my knees getting out of alignment (is painful) but i have worked out the trigger have they have been doing better since. I do get the extreme  muscular  tension in my neck and the PT I have been working with did talk about the muscles not working together the way they should be but could not comment as to the root cause.