By charlie on Tuesday, August 08, 2000 - 11:33 am:

Hi, I visited my osteopath/kinesiologist and he said that all my joints were hypermobile. He then ascertained (I've no idea how - all he seemed to do was poke my stomach and my right arm) that this was due to my being hyper-adrenal (i.e. I'm producing too much adrenaline). I've searched the web for something about this but this message board is all I've found. My biggest problem with hypermobility is my SI joint which has incapacitated me considerably and I am very keen to fix.

Has anyone heard of anyone else being hyper-adrenal? Where can I find out more about this condition? And what can be done about it? My osteopath just told me to take it easy, do gentle exercise and drink lots of water.

Are there any other known causes of the sort of hypermobility I have? I am 27 and have never had any problems like my SI before. I used to be pretty active, healthy and agile before I got bedridden about 10 months ago after I visited an osteopath (not the same one) who manipulated my SI joint.

Many thanks in advance if anyone can tell me anything of help.

By Bianca on Tuesday, August 08, 2000 - 11:53 pm:

The most common illness that causes a Hyperadrealinism is a Phaeochromozytom. I looked in my medicine book, but they tell nothing about hypermobility/ hyperflexibility as a symptom of hyperadrenalinism. They talk more about high blood pressure, flushes (getting red immidiatly in your face and feel hot), a lot of sweating, feeling nervous, headache and so on.
If you have these symptoms, too, I would go to a normal doctor, because this should be treated.
If you don't have any of these symptoms, so I would say, that I am not sure whether you really have too much adrenaline. By the way there is a 24 hour urine test to find out, whether you produce too much adrenaline or not.
There is a connection between same hormones and HMS. But as far as I know these concerns more sexual hormones like Oestrogene, Relaxin and so on. By the way sometimes building too much adrenaline is connected with building too much feminine or androgen hormones, because all these hormones are build around the same place and are chemically seen near substances.

By Charlie on Thursday, August 10, 2000 - 04:11 am:

Thank you very much for your helpful information Bianca. I have since found out that there's also a simple saliva test for adrenal gland imbalance (which I can do through the post) but a nutritionist said a cheaper way to find out was to take adrenal extract supplements for a couple of weeks and if this helped alleviate the condition then perhaps it was worth forking out for the test.

From the sound of your description I'm not hyper-adrenal or if I am then only very mildly. My symptoms are not very consistent - I have a tendency to tense up and feel rushed about doing things which aren't urgent (even when I know they're not, e.g. brushing my teeth at night!)But then this could be because of the pain in my SI joints. I'm also easily constipated (which is a new thing too.)

I still don't understand this whole hypermobility syndrome - my osteopath/kinesiologist seemed to suggest that my hypermobility was only a temporary condition yet most of the stuff I hear about it suggests that it's a lifelong condition. Does anyone know if this makes sense? I don't have any pain in any of my joints apart from my SI and an old knee injury, but my osteopath diagnosed hypermobility by stretching my wrists.

So therefore how would I be able to tell if my hypermobility has gone after taking the supplement, unless I see my osteopath? Will I get less bendy joints (which don't seem particularly bendy to me at all).

It sounds like some of what my osteopath has told me doesn't quite tally with what I've found elsewhere.

Thanks for any info.

Confused!

By Bianca on Friday, August 11, 2000 - 02:06 am:

To the basic causes and changes about mobility during human life:
Hypermobility is mostly in your genes, that means you have it or not and it is a life long story.There must be mentioned that hypermobility in only one or two joints is more often seen than in all joints.
Then there are other factors that can cause Hypermobility like injuries of a joint.
During lifetime mobility is changing. Children are a lot more mobiler than grown-ups and older people.
Women are mobiler than men.
And also hormons have an influence to the mobility. A lot of us women feel mobiler around menstruation than about the other time.
Just before you give birth to a child you are mobiler, too, because of the hormones.

To find out whether you are hypermobile or not, there are same simple tests like the Beighton scale. These are shown on different sides in the Internet. These tests give you a simple way to find out. But caution, if you can do the shown things you are surely hypermobile, if you cannot do it, it does not mean that you cannot be hypermobile although because the test only tests same of the big joints.

By Gwen on Friday, August 11, 2000 - 01:48 pm:

Charlie, also look up the "1998 Brighton Criteria" for Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome which looks at wider issues than Beighton's scale, such as pain, subluxations and organ prolapse. It also takes into allowance the fact that hypermobility decreases with age. I don't qualify on Beighton's criteria as, apart from my spine, I'm not particularly hypermobile but meet most of the minor criteria listed . You may well find these criteria also apply to you.

By Lucy on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 10:49 am:

Charlie, I have HMS (Ehlers-Danlos Type III). Hypermobility is caused by a genetic deficiency in the collagen that provides elasticity to the fibrous tissue. What happens is that this lack of collagen (there are many types and I'm not sure which one it is) causes the connective tissue to act much lick an elastic band that has lost its elasticity due to over use so things start to slip out of joint. I too have chronic problems with my SI joint - prolo hasn't helped it at all, it actually made things worse because I had a whole chain reaction of spasms and such. DO NOT have it manipulated. Manipulation (unless you have a dislocation that needs reducing) can stretch ligaments and tendons even more and make them more useless than they already are. Take care - Lucy