Your troubles aren’t over yet, you have hypermobility.

Methotrexate worked and I’m in remission! Or between flares. Not sure yet which one it is, I just know I have no inflammation in my body right now!

But things are not over… Even though my blood tests are fantastic and I have no swelling, I still have pain in my joints, tendinitis and sacroiliitis. But why?

Well, I found out I have a hypermobility syndrome. I already knew I had hypermobility as I can do these crazy tricks (always found it useful at parties) but I never knew it could cause so much trouble. Apparently, it can be completely benign in some people while others have loads of troubles!

A hypermobility syndrome or the hypermobility type Ehler-Danlos syndrome (EDS) can cause frequent luxations or subluxations of most joints causing severe acute pain; it may also cause joint pain and other systemic and musculoskeletal problems.

This condition can lead to osteoarthritis due to the mechanical damage caused by the hypermobility or frequent luxations. It also increases the chances of ligament tear. Hypermobility EDS is due to a defect in the production of a protein called collagen or because of a problem in the ratio of production of collagen types. There is no cure for this condition, just like arthritis, all you can do is to try to slow down the progression of the damage. The problem is that there are no meds.

So, what can I do? The usual… Live a healthy life style. Exercise to increase muscle tone in order to decrease joint instability. The use of braces, bandages and kinesio tape is also helpful to increase stability.

I recently fell in love with braces. I bought a knee brace and even though the pain didn’t decrease (it got worse because I ended up with a friction burn behind the knee… bad luck…) the feeling that the knee was going to fall apart disappeared! And it stopped locking! Yay! Now I’m waiting for a shoulder brace so I can start increasing the muscle tone around my shoulder without it jumping out of its socket.

I’ve read LOTS of scientific articles about arthritis and about EDS and the treatments available and I advise you to do the same. There is nothing like being informed about your condition(s) and about the treatments available to help you take care of yourself in the best way possible. With your doctor’s help, of course.

I wish you all good luck and pain free days!

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(Any opinions expressed in Eduarda’s blog are not necessarily shared by Arthur’s Place. Nothing that you read in Eduarda’s blog constitutes medical advice.)