Joint hypermobility syndrome

Most people with joint hypermobility don’t have joint pains. The Brighton criteria state that if you have 4 or more hypermobile joints and you’ve had joint pains in those joints for 3 months or more then it’s likely that you have joint hypermobility syndrome, also known as benign joint hypermobility syndrome (BJHS).

People with joint hypermobility syndrome may experience joint pain and be more prone to injury when performing everyday tasks.

Joint hypermobility syndrome can range in severity. The majority of people will only experience a few symptoms but others may have hypermobility as part of a more serious condition. More serious conditions that may be associated with hypermobility include:

• osteogenesis imperfecta, which causes bones to become fragile
• Marfan’s syndrome, which involves the heart, eyes and blood vessels
• Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, which is the most difficult to diagnose because there are many different types

The most severe form causes weakness of the major blood vessels, which may swell (this is called an aneurysm).

The symptoms of these conditions may have a large impact on everyday life. Also, some people may find that they are greatly affected by the symptoms of joint hypermobility syndrome, to the point where everyday tasks become difficult to manage.