The 7 signs you have hypermobility are loose, unstable joints, frequent sprains or strains, chronic pain, extreme fatigue, soft, stretchy or fragile skin, digestive issues and dizziness or racing heart.
The loose, unstable joints with hypermobility are joints that regularly feel loose "pop" or bend easily further than they should bend.
And you may even frequently experience subluxations (partial dislocations), or full dislocations.
Repeatedly rolling your ankles or even pulling muscles often without a major injury, because your muscles work overtime to stabilize your body and leads to strain are also signs of hypermobility.
And having ongoing, widespread chronic pain or stiffness in your muscles and joints, which is often worse later in the day and even experiencing extreme fatigue, which involves persistent and debilitating tiredness that does not improve even after resting, largely as a result of the extra energy needed that your body burns trying to keep itself stable.
The soft, stretchy or fragile skin, with hypermobility is when your skin feels unusually soft or velvety and is easily pulled or stretched and bruises easily.
And having digestive issues like frequent gastrointestinal complaints like chronic constipation, bloating, acid reflux or symptoms, which can mimic irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is also a sign of hypermobility.
And autonomic nervous symptoms like getting lightheaded or dizzy when standing up quickly (orthostatic intolerance), or having a sudden racing heart rate that can be linked to conditions such as Dysautonomia are also signs of hypermobility.
Hypermobility occurs when your joints move beyond the normal and expected range of motion.
Hypermobility is also often referred to as being doubled jointed and is caused by weak or loose ligaments.
While hypermobility is often harmless and can be an advantage in gymnastics or dance, hypermobility can also cause pain, injuries and instability.
Hypermobility is also very common and affects up to 30 percent of the general population and it's most common in children, females and adolescents and also often lessens with age.
To diagnose hypermobility, doctors often use the Ehlers Danlos Society Assessing Joint Hypermobility questionnaire or the Beighton score to evaluate joint flexibility across multiple areas of the body.