Hypermobility: what is it, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment?
Observing children in the playroom or gym, we can often notice the difference in the quality of their movement. Some of them can arrange their bodies in a way that others cannot. They make various figures, bend their limbs or take positions in extreme ranges of motion of their joints. A bridge made of standing, a split done without preparation, hands on the ground without bending the knees, bringing the thumb to the wrist. Are you wondering how your child can do such things, where his abilities come from, do they have a name and is it safe for him?
Such a syndrome of increased mobility of joints or spinal segments is called hypermobility. Now that we know the name of what we see, it's time to answer the questions: what is hypermobility, what is the test for hypermobility and how to treat hypermobility? In addition to the answers to these questions, in the article we will try to suggest who can diagnose hypermobility of joints in children and whether it is worth consulting hypermobility of joints in your child on the Internet forum.
What is hypermobility?
In order for movement to occur, close cooperation between the nervous and muscular systems is necessary. However, it is the skeletal system that is the scaffolding for the body, and thanks to the joints, movement can occur in it.
A healthy joint, reinforced with a joint capsule and ligaments, has a specific range of motion, slightly different for each of us due to the individual structure of collagen or genetic conditions. If the range of motion in a joint significantly deviates from the norm for a given sex, race and age in the population, then we talk about hypermobility of the joint.
Expert advises
Joint hypermobility appears on the basis of abnormal collagen structure, which causes changes in the connective tissue. As a result, the structures responsible for stabilizing the joints are more flaccid and this allows movement beyond the limits of physiology. In addition to the name: hypermobility of the joints, we can meet the term joint laxity, excessive mobility or joint hypermobility. Hypermobility can also be one of the symptoms in patients with genetic diseases such as Marfan syndrome, Morquio syndrome or Down syndrome.
Hypermobility: types
Hypermobility is most often diagnosed:
- local (concerning single joints);
- generalized (at least 5 of the child's joints show excessive mobility);
- constitutional (this is congenital benign joint hypermobility, coexisting here are symptoms outside the musculoskeletal system).
Joint hypermobility in children is not always the result of gene mutations and rarely affects the whole organism. It often occurs in a given area of the child's body or individual joints (e.g. knees or elbows).
Joint hypermobility is more common in women than in men, and its variability is also observed depending on age and race.
Joint hypermobility: symptoms
Parents often find out about joint hypermobility in their child when the child is older and has various problems with body movement. Some see the symptoms of hypermobility but do not know what to do with it, and still others consider it an asset, intensively strengthening hypermobility with exercises.
Joint hypermobility in the youngest children
Symptoms of hypermobility of the joints can be observed from an early age of the child. In infants, the basis of delayed motor development may be the hypermobility of the joints.
Joint hypermobility in older children
In older children, clumsiness of movements, clumsiness, stumbling and falling over, problems with motor coordination, rapid fatigue or joint pain after exercise are observed. Their posture seems to be careless, stooped with a tendency to set the knee joints in valgus and hyperextension.
Children with general hypermobility have problems with maintaining a stable position while sitting, fidgeting, moving their legs interlocking or changing their position frequently.
Joint hypermobility in adolescents
It can lead to the formation of a careless attitude fixed. She is characterized deepening the curvature of the spine, bending the knee and hip joints or setting them in hyperextension. Such a body posture obtained by reaching the extreme ranges of motion in the joints gives a sense of increased stability without the additional effort needed to maintain the correct posture. However, this causes overloads in the limbs and spine, leading to, among others, to the lateral curvature of the spine.
Children with joint hypermobility have poorer results in fitness tests, exercises requiring motor coordination or team games. However, they are great at tasks where flexibility and flexibility are the basis. Often in children with joint hypermobility, they can be observed shooting (fingers, neck), crackle (knee or ankle joints during squat) or theirs blockwhich may cause short-term pain.
It is not uncommon for children with generalized hypermobility to have a reduced level of concentration and high distractibility, which definitely affects the child's educational activity.
Expert advises
Parents are often the first to notice abnormalities in their child's development. The same symptoms in different children can indicate different problems, result from different causes. You cannot be guided by opinions or diagnoses made on an internet forum. Only a visit to a specialist is able to confirm or dispel the parent's anxieties.
Hypermobility: how to make a diagnosis?
Since we have already observed some symptoms that may suggest joint hypermobility in our child, how can we confirm or rule it out? The Beighton scale allows the parent to easily check 5 areas of the baby's body. If the test result is positive, we can assume that the child is hypermobile. However, this scale is not the most accurate and does not assess the degree of hypermobility.
Remember that only an orthopedic specialist, a rehabilitation specialist or a qualified physiotherapist can assess hypermobility and related problems.
To assess the hypermobility of the joints in a child, specialists use special scales differing in the tested parameters, the degree of difficulty in carrying them out and the precision of measurements. These include:
- Sasche's criteria supplemented by Kapandji;
- the scale of contempt;
- criteria for the diagnosis of hyperflaccidity syndrome according to Grahame.
The assessment of the degree of hypermobility should always be supplemented with a thorough examination of the child's body posture in statics and dynamics. Parents, never self-diagnose your child!
Joint hypermobility: how to treat?
Many parents, after hearing about joint hypermobility in their child, wonder if there is anything that can be done about it, can it be cured?
Expert advises
Unfortunately, due to the underlying hypermobility, it cannot be treated causally. A disturbed collagen structure cannot be repaired or modified. In this case, symptomatic treatment remains, in which rehabilitation plays a fundamental role. In the treatment of hypermobility, the physiotherapist is a key element. He defines the treatment strategy and develops an individual action plan, the purpose of which is, among others, improving muscle strength, balance and stabilization.
Exercises to increase muscle strength
Especially postural muscles and muscles of deep stabilization of the trunk, as well as exercises of deep sensation (proprioception) of hypermobile joints improve their stabilization and prevent stretching of periarticular tissues. Stabilization is an important element of therapy, because thanks to it, the aim is to permanently change incorrect loads, preventing the fixation of incorrect posture in children.
It is also important that stretching one muscle group (contracted) does not lead to a contraction of another. This control of muscle balance plays an important role in working on the correct posture of the child.
Balance and coordination exercises
Treatment of hypermobility is also balance and coordination exercises. Kinesiotaping is also a supportive therapy. Thanks to special techniques of sticking patches, we obtain a corrective or stabilizing effect for a given joint or a mobilizing effect for a muscle, which allows you to maintain the effects of therapy for several days after its completion.
Stretching exercises are an absolute contraindication in the therapy of children with hypermobility. They lead to deepening hypermobility within the joints and destabilization of the posture.
Hypermobility and lifestyle modification
In the treatment of hypermobility, an important role is also played by lifestyle modification, maintaining a normal body weight and physical activity at a level appropriate to the child's age.
Muscles without physical activity lose their strength, relax and this negatively affects the stabilization of joints.
Therefore, it is worth taking care of the right amount of movement that does not burden the joints (i.e. swimming or cycling) and at the same time allows you to control your body weight. Overweight and obesity, especially in children, lead to overloads in the developing musculoskeletal system, which in turn increases the risk of injuries and degenerative changes in the joints in the future.
Hypermobility: a summary
Increased mobility in the joints can affect both children and adults. Sometimes it makes itself felt after prolonged physical exertion and sometimes it hinders everyday functioning. You should never be guided by case reports or diagnoses made on internet forums regarding hypermobility in children, only in case of doubt, go to a specialist. In addition to working with a physiotherapist, the best training is a well-chosen physical activity.
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