Hypermobility and ASD

[Fantasia]

Biology is my thing, so I am trying to dig into the nitty gritty of autism.

I am hypermobile and suspected autistic, apparently conditions that go hand in hand.

What is especially interesting is there's a hypothesis saying that stretchy cartilage is a contributor to autism. I had to really go digging there, and long story short, the type of cartilage of interest here is essentially the scaffold of the developing brain. A weakened scaffold is therefore one of a number of implicated causes of autism.

So I'm curious - how strong is correlation between hypermobility and autism?

(Incidentally, my hypermobility went undiagnosed for decades until I actually saw a physiotherapist. Despite my back pain and blatantly bendy elbows, no GP picked up on it.)

 

[ZebraAutismo]

I have autism and ehlers danlos syndrone.

 

[Isadoorian]

I've got PDD-NOS and my legs are hypermobile

 

[Fantasia]

Collagen comes in a million types and it's interesting how many of them have roles in the nervous system. Here are some of the more interesting and digestible articles I've come across-

Connective Tissue Disorders & Their Correlation to Autism

Autism, Joint Hypermobility-Related Disorders and Pain

EDS and autism are a well established pair. However, hypermobility is apparently also linked to anxiety and panic disorders, without the autism. (I am suffering from GAD myself.)
Brain structure and joint hypermobility: relevance to the expression of psychiatric symptoms

On a side note, collagen XIX is implicated in schizophrenia.
Decrypting a collagen’s role in schizophrenia

 

[BlueSky Aozora]

Very interesting. Come to think of it, my self-diagnosed aspie husband might have hypermobility too..Not sure whether i understand the term correctly

 

[Fantasia]

Hypermobility means precisely that - joints that overextend.

Some people are referred to as "double-jointed" when they can bend their thumb back to touch their wrist, and other examples.

Other cases of hypermobility are much more subtle - in my case, there's nothing to see in my hands, but my elbows do not lock correctly, my back lacks support, and I suffer from fatigue. Hypermobility is very often overlooked, but can be the underlying cause to bad posture, joint pain and tiredness.

 

[Monachopia]

I have never heard of this connection between autism and hypermobility to be honest... All I can say is that I am not hypermobile as far as I'm aware

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

I'm not hypermobile, I have a cousin who is (her joints dislocate on a daily basis) who is NT.

 

[Pats]

I know a few people who are double jointed but they are not on the spectrum. I am not double jointed.

 

[Judge]

So I'm curious - how strong is correlation between hypermobility and autism?

Seems pretty clear to be the case from the perspective of medical professionals.

Autism, Joint Hypermobility-Related Disorders and Pain

 

[Streetwise]

i'm mildly affected ,if you're not genetically predisposed then you could also be hypermobile from doing intensive exercise, I wonder if there is a correlation between people wanting to do the type of exercise that would enable hypermobility and the way Their neurology is designed .

 

[Clueless in Canada]

I've never been told I'm hypermobile but I have been told I've got double-jointed ankles (said by doctor attending to a sprain) and I do roll on them easily and can't ice skate as my ankles just turn. I have overly flexible hips but very inflexible arms/shoulders/neck. I've fallen many times in my life and the physio told me the reason I hadn't broken my spine was because I am so flexible it all juts shifted. I used to be able to sit on the floor and put my foot up to my ear but now I am middle-aged I can't.

 

[Fino]

If I was, I would pretend not to be 'cause it's icky.

 

[Progster]

Some people are referred to as "double-jointed" when they can bend their thumb back to touch their wrist, and other examples.

I can do this on one of my wrists. Also, my arms overreach their joints whenI put them over my head, and I can't get them back unless I tip my body or push it back with the other arm

 

[Gracey]

My legs arc backwards when standing if I don’t consciously correct my posture.
(Upper body weight too far forward over knee joint)

At my age; with no warm up or stretching,
I can still stand on a roadside kerb
and bend forwards (legs and back straight)
to place my palms flat on the road surface.
(Lower than my feet)


I don’t check if I still can that often though

 

[Fantasia]

I've never been told I'm hypermobile but I have been told I've got double-jointed ankles (said by doctor attending to a sprain) and I do roll on them easily and can't ice skate as my ankles just turn. I have overly flexible hips but very inflexible arms/shoulders/neck. I've fallen many times in my life and the physio told me the reason I hadn't broken my spine was because I am so flexible it all juts shifted. I used to be able to sit on the floor and put my foot up to my ear but now I am middle-aged I can't.

I can tell you you're hypermobile!

 

[Fantasia]

Seems pretty clear to be the case from the perspective of medical professionals.

Autism, Joint Hypermobility-Related Disorders and Pain

If I were to do a study on this, the first thing I would do is reaffirm the link. If I fail in that first step - hypermobility is not correlated to autism - then there's my result right there!

I am also intrigued because so many autistic people do not have hypermobility. (And there are many autistics who probably are hypermobile but don't know what it is.)

I read an article (lost the link, damnit) where the fMRI brain scans of autistics revealed that the autistic people fell into two distinct camps. I am assuming the authors corrected for the obvious confounding factors of sex, age, and whether the patient had depression or was on medication. The next conclusion is that there were actually two types of autism.

So now I am wondering if autism is many different disorders coming to the same result - or putting it another way, there are a bunch of ways for the body to go 'wrong' that produce the autism symptom set. Maybe one type of autism is the hypermobile correlation, but other types of autism are not.

Autism is a complex multifactorial condition, chiefly genetic in origin but also influenced by environment, and we can expect to be asking these questions for quite a while longer.

 

[Fantasia]

My legs arc backwards when standing if I don’t consciously correct my posture.
(Upper body weight too far forward over knee joint)

At my age; with no warm up or stretching,
I can still stand on a roadside kerb
and bend forwards (legs and back straight)
to place my palms flat on the road surface.
(Lower than my feet)


I don’t check if I still can that often though

One test for hypermobility that my physio made me do, is reach down to touch your toes.
If you can easily touch your toes, or even lay your hands flat beside them, while keeping your knees locked, then that's a good indicator of hypermobility.

Another very common indicator is tight hamstrings. I'm gonna guess a lot of you have this.

Also look for joints that bend beyond a normal angle. Everyone knows about the freaky fingers. But in my case the elbows are the obvious ones. My wrists are also not quite right. For other people it could be the knees, hips, ankles, toes or shoulders. You may also wonder what the big fuss is about when it comes to yoga.

Hypermobile people can also have unusually stretchy skin. That's particularly the case in EDS ( Ehlers–Danlos syndromes - Wikipedia ).

 

[tlc]

My legs arc backwards when standing if I don’t consciously correct my posture.

Mine do this. My fingers also bend backwards on their own, more if I pull them backwards.

I always took it for granted that I could reach anywhere on my body, like anywhere on my back to scratch it. I was surprised that many people can't.

When working on something, I always felt more connected to my work being bent over on the floor, rather than using a chair and table. Though at my age it's getting tougher to do that for long periods. Same with wriggling around into tight spaces under a car engine or under the dash.

 

[Clueless in Canada]

I can tell you you're hypermobile!

Okay, thanks for the diagnosis. I need a little less mobility in some parts and more in others!