Strategies and advice

Trying the recommended strategies can help improve any difficulties linked to hypermobility and be manageable.

What you may see

The problems seen with hypermobility depend on which joints are affected. The child may be able to do the splits easily or contort themselves into odd positions. You may notice that they have very flat feet or they may go over on their ankles and frequently sprain these joints.

If they have hypermobile fingers, they may struggle to hold a pen correctly or manipulate buttons when dressing. They may complain of their hands hurting when they write and be slower than their peers to finish their work due to having to stop to stretch out their hands.

When doing lots of walking, they may be slower than their peers and tire more quickly, requiring more frequent rests. After a lot of repetitive activity, they may experience pain due to muscle fatigue as the muscles surrounding the hypermobile joints have to work harder to support the joints.

Children with hypermobility may also have poor proprioception (knowing where your body parts are in space with your eyes closed) and therefore can appear less co-ordinated during movement.