Research suggests that people with over-flexible joints may be at risk of chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue.
Hypermobility is a condition in which some or all of a person’s joints have an abnormally wide range of motion due to differences in the structure of the sensitive tissues that support, protect, and give structure to organs, joints, and other tissues.
Up to 20% of adults are hypermobile and most are completely healthy. Many musicians and athletes have very flexible joints, so hypermobility can be beneficial. However, it can cause problems such as pain, fatigue, joint damage and stomach or digestive problems.
Dr Jessica Eccles of the University of Sussex and her colleagues have been investigating the link between hypermobility, myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatty Syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia (a disease that causes pain all over the body) during Covid. An epidemic struck.
“We began to wonder, if hypermobility can be present in ME/CFS, is it also long-term covid?” Ecclesiastes said.
In collaboration with researchers at King’s College London, they analyzed data from 3,064 participants in the Covid Symptoms Study (now the Zoe Health Study) to find out if they had hypermobile joints, fully recovered from the last bout of Covid, and whether they were experiencing persistent fatigue.
The study, published in BMJ Public HealthIt found that people with hypermobile joint pain were 30% more likely to not fully recover from Covid-19 than those with normal joints and were more likely to experience severe fatigue.
Although the study did not prove that hypermobility caused their illness, there is a plausible mechanism by which it could cause symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and more. Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) – People’s heart rates increase rapidly when they wake up.
“We’ve known for some time that PoTs are closely associated with high activity,” added Mecceb. The theory is that loose connective tissue in people’s arteries and veins causes blood to pool in their tissues, meaning the heart has to work harder to pump blood to the brain when they wake up, causing symptoms such as palpitations and dizziness.
“Some of these abnormalities may have always been there, but Covid exposed them in a vulnerable person,” Eccles said.
One theory she is investigating is whether reduced blood flow to the brain contributes to brain fog and fatigue in individuals. However, there are other options.
“We also know that hypermobility is associated with conditions like ADHD and autism, and ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, so fatigue can be a result of that,” says Ecclesiastes.
She says it’s unlikely that long-term covid is a factor, but a better understanding of its link to high mobility could help the development of new treatments.
“This work suggests that there may be a subgroup of people with prolonged covid who are more likely to be hypermobile,” she said.
“It’s important to distinguish that. Some of the same things across the board, like strengthening and supporting core muscles, can help those with over-mobility and pain.