sonnek avatar
sonnek
36
3 months ago

ADHD and hypermobility - do you have both?

I recently learned that there’s a connection between these and that quite a lot of people who are hypermobile also have ADHD and/or other forms of neurodivergence as a comorbidity. I always knew I was hypermobile, but in recent years it has caused me a lot of problems: pain from shifted ribs or vertebral blockages, multiple aching joints without any trauma, and regular physiotherapy prescriptions. As a child, I sprained my ankles very often or broke fingers and toes - maybe hypermobility with loose joints is one reason that many ADHDers seem to be clumsy? Now my orthopedist wants to have me tested to see whether I have a hypermobility syndrome or even hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome — a connective tissue disorder with varying degrees of severity. Either way, I’ll definitely need to work even more on my joint stability in order to become and stay pain-free. I’m curious: is anyone else here hypermobile or even diagnosed with one of the syndromes? How do you live with it, and what do you do to help your bones stay where they belong?

Posts and comments here share personal experience — not medical advice. For treatment questions, talk to a clinician.

shimbeam avatar
shimbeam
2mo

This is my first post comment! You blew my mind there. Never heard about the link before. Hypermobility was my first diagnosis, at about 9yo. My ADHD diagnosis arrived only 20+ years later (classic :/ ) and have been connecting the dots between lifelong mental and physical struggles since. Yesterday at training I hurt my little pinky :) Someone came up to me to check if I was ok, I said yes, I just have gummy knuckles :)) and she said "me too!" And showed me how she bends her fingers (same as I can, classic bar trick- I asked can you do this? Pointing feet inwords in 200 degree angle and she said of course! And did the same, and then I asked do you... do you have ADHD too? And she said OBVIOUSLY! I'm truly flabbergasted by this. I could go on but my feet are getting numb and I snoozed my drink water reminder twice so that's for now ;))))))

sonnek avatar
sonnek
2mo

That sounds pretty much like my story and how cool you got that proof immediately 🤩! There’s a test called Beighton Score where you can check your level of hypermobility 😅 and if you’re into training there are really cool resources for hypermobile persons. For example I learned that a lot of our muscles are kind of lazy and others often compensate for that which leads to dysbalances etc. - that’s a feeling I always had in my body (abs, glutes , lat) but couldn’t explain 😊. Also could go on for a while - I am 45 and finally learning precise motion control 😅

sonnek avatar
sonnek
3mo

@Cuddly Yes, I remember the legs … that’s quite a collection you’ve got, wishing you all the best for your treatments 🫂! I’m rather zig-zagged with my compensations so it ends up in a triple scoliosis - bodies are strange …

sonnek avatar
sonnek
3mo

@Cuddly I just got a desk with variable heights up to standing and that’s a game changer. My favorite position now is the highest my stool can do so I’m hardly sitting and my legs stay active all the time. But I learned recently that a band around the legs can help and support a lot with pelvic instability so that seems a good way to deal with it.

cuddly avatar
cuddly
3mo

Btw when I sit at a chair to write I start hurting within the first 15 minutes. I have started putting a band around my thighs to keep my left leg from opening out which seems to help the back and pelvis pains that follow.

Lucy 🧡💛🤍🩵💙 avatar
Lucy 🧡💛🤍🩵💙
3mo

I‘m the opposite, extremely immobile because I‘m too lazy to stretch

sonnek avatar
sonnek
3mo

stretching is overrated 😉!

cuddly avatar
cuddly
3mo

Other conditions here (as you are already aware). I think my IBS and the mitral valve prolapse I was once diagnosed with is connected to ultra loose ligaments. I broke both my legs last year and used to fall on my knees repeatedly as a child so much so I have a permanent scar indentation on my left knee… interestingly that is the side where I broke the ankle and where I get back chest pains when I take a full breath in… I have been put on a waiting list 🙄 to get check for rheumatoid arthritis but I might mention hEDS and see what they say… I weirdly seem hyper mobile on just the left side… My ligaments are loose but my muscles seem to be ultra compensating… But currently we are focusing on my ENDO diagnosis because I might need surgery in Spring for that condition…

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