News Taffy

Joint pain. Is it arthritis or something else? Through our lives, many of us will experience some type of joint pain. I was recently diagnosed with generalized joint hyper-mobility syndrome. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it; neither had I.

I’ve had problems with my back for years, and in recent years, my hips and feet would ache once in awhile. But in August, I began to experience pain and stiffness in my hips, feet, hands and shoulders, every day, all day. Celebrex didn’t help a bit. If I’m active, the pain and stiffness gets better. But if I sit at the computer, watch TV or when I get up in the morning, I am stiff and it takes a few minutes to get everything working.

Finally, I’d had enough, so my primary care physician referred me to Dr. Leslie McCasland, a rheumatologist. Dr. McCasland asked many questions, took several x-rays and had blood drawn for a barrage of tests. Since they tested me for horrible diseases like Lupus, I was glad the blood work all came back negative. My x-rays showed that my joints actually looked pretty good except for a tiny bit of wear and tear in my lower back. I was expecting to hear that I had the beginnings of osteoarthritis but instead Dr. McCasland came up with generalized joint hyper-mobility syndrome.

As Dr. McCasland explained the diagnosis, it all made sense. Joint hyper-mobility means that you have a greater than average degree of flexibility in a joint. Doctors use the Beighton score which consists of nine different tests to check for hyper-mobility. They are as follows; one point for each joint in a pair with a score of 4 or more indicating hyper-mobility.

*Can you put your hands flat on the floor with your knees straight?
*Do your elbows bend backwards or hyper-extend?
*Do your knees bend backwards or hyper-extend?
*Can you bend your thumbs back onto your forearm?
*Can you bend your little finger towards the back of your hand to a 90 degree angle or more?

Many people have joint hyper-mobility. Someone probably entertained the class in grade school by demonstrating the above feats of contortion or putting their foot behind their head. Yes, at one time I could do all those things but now pain and stiffness prevent me. However Dr. McCasland told me that many of us hyper-mobiles will have joint pain as a result. Just because we can do these things and they come easily to us doesn’t mean that the joint was meant to over-flex. Over time, the damage is done and the price must be paid.

Now, I am taking an anti-inflammatory and a malaria drug. The last one is very interesting. Years ago, doctors discovered that in low doses, the malaria drug chloroquine was effective for arthritis pain, but it will take six to 10 weeks to notice any relief. I am also going to try physical therapy to strengthen my muscles in a way that will protect my joints.

My research showed that generalized joint hyper-mobility syndrome is not always well-diagnosed and may be mistaken for other things. If you are experiencing similar symptoms and meet the Beighton test, you may want to discuss it with your doctor. Without a proper diagnosis, treatment will not be as effective.

Until next week,
Lisa