A Guide to Living with Hypermobility Syndrome: Bending without Breaking Paperback – July 15, 2011

'A Guide to Living With Hypermobility Syndrome" --This is an under-diagnosed, and all-too common condition that can lead to pain, joint damage and disability. This book is written by a British woman, a dancer with FM, who has found that joint hypermobility (also known as a type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome-look it up on Wikipeadia) is the cause of her bewildering array of symptoms, and with the help of the well-informed British medical community, has gotten much of her dancer's life back. Woefully uninformed American doctors MUST investigate this cause of FM much more extensively and educate themselves about this condition, instead of blaming the patient because they can't figure out the cause of all their pain, telling them to just do any kind of exercise (which if they have this condition could actually be the wrong type of exercise and lead to more damage and pain/disability), that they must learn to cope with all the pain because there's nothing we can do about it, handing out pain meds with one hand (if the patient is lucky) while implying to everyone that there is something wrong with taking them in the first place, or even worse, informing the patient that they are lying and it's al in their head. Hypermobility is a genetic collagen disorder; it is not imaginary. it is treatable-but not fixable for now, and is definitely not the patient's fault! It's a great relief to have found my answer, even though I have not improved one itty bit yet, but at least now I am on the right road! I accept that I will probably never get rid of all this pain, but I do feel better because I now have an answer, or most of the answer, at least. This may not be the right answer for you. FM has many causes and combinations of causes, but it's worth a look isn't it? I wish you the best of luck in your search. Keep looking and never let anyone talk you out of your quest to feel better.

Being a hypermobility sufferer myself I enjoyed and appreciated every page of this book. I identified with Isobel's whole story as it was similar to mine; how one could've been active for years without much trouble and then boom! One day you overdo it and a downward spiral action starts that you never saw coming swaps away the life you knew and poses some form of 'invisible' disability that nobody seems to believe! This book gave me lots of ideas and insights, confirmed many 'realizations' I'd made through trial and error for the past five years I'd been having chronic lower leg problems, and very importantly Isobel's story made me feel that I'm not alone and not crazy!! She gave me hope that maybe I could return one day to doing the things I love, and gave me ideas on how this could be achieved.This book is a must have for anyone with Hypermobility, there's nothing like hearing it first hand from someone who'd been through it all. I'd say this book is a must as well for every doctor who'd dismissed someone with hypermobility issues saying it's all in your head, or made some weird misdiagnosis just to give the patient something to go home with (The ones who didn't tell me "it's all in your head" gave me some pretty funny diagnosis, each doc gave a different one, when I asked for what they based that on and if any of my tests had shown that, the common reply was "No, but what else could it be"??!!! :) Pretty scientific and logical reasoning, huh?!)

Many people suffer silently with EDS or HMS. When you look normal and didn't do anything to hurt yourself, others don't seem to understand your pain. To be in pain without really doing anything is difficult and when you complain, no one seems to believe you since you wear a tough face most of the time. This book is a really good read for those wanting to know a first-hand account of someone suffering from hypermobility related issues. Not only does it share Isobel's story and medical timeline, it also gives you the facts related to it (many citations and other resources you can refer to in your research). I thought it was neat seeing the different things that, although they may not be proven, have been linked to HMS.This is great for those with the diagnosis (or thinking they may have this issue) as well as friends and family. It's hard for those that aren't suffering to understand what's going on. So if you are a family member or friend of someone with HMS, this book should help you to get a better understanding of what your loved one is truly going through. It's not in their head, it's not something that can easily be fixed, and it's not going away.Thank you Isobel for your personal insight and your research into this subject that is still not widely understood by the medical community

I was desperately seeking a single resource where all the unknowns about living with hypermobility were exposed. Hence, the title of this book was very promising. I wanted to find some truths that I had yet uncovered. I was hoping that there would be some answers in here.It turns out, that for a condition that is little understood, the premise of this book was quite ambitious. It is true that there really isn't a vast amount of research available. However, I bought this book quite a ways into my personal research on this subject and I didn't really learn much that wasn't already fairly readily available via a quick Google search.As is pointed out by other reviewers, it really runs more like a personal and anecdotal experience log than a medical or scientific resource. Isobel expresses much of the frustration that many of us face in living with hypermobility and in our attempts to return to a "normal" life and to doing the things we love without really offering any new insight (for me anyway). Some of the prose is a little rambling, and a good editor could have helped put some of this to rights.I respect anyone who follows their instinct by recognizing a glaring gap in the knowledge available about this condition and to do something constructive about it to help others. A little more discipline in the writing and choosing a focus, facts - or story, would have made this a better read.

This book was such an eye-opener for me. It has allowed me to see how far back my symptoms actually started and realise how many things that I've complained about over the years are actually directly related to HMS.At times Isobel made me laugh and at times she made me cry, but the whole book was helpful. Even the sections that didn't directly relate to my experience were still useful because they gave me more insight into potential issues and therapies that I didn't know about before.I bought this book a while ago and have read it 3 times myself, lent it to family members, used it to help explain myself when appealing for benefits and I am about to read it again and highlight relevant sections before lending it to my GP so he can gain a better understanding of everything I am facing.Isobel's unique account of her personal experience of HMS teamed with input from other sufferers as well as medical professionals, including Profs Bird and Grahame, is a godsend for anyone with any connection to HMS. Her explanations of everything connected to HMS and dealing with it daily are easy for everyone to understand without dumbing it down too much and yet gives enough of the science behind it to help us sufferers to communicate with medical professionals more effectively.Simply Brilliant! Thank you so much Isobel!

If you have been diagnosed with, or have any reason to believe that you may suffer from HMS EDS III, then this book can literally turn you into a nodding dog. My favourite part of the book is the clear lists of symptoms. I just nodded my head throughout reading these. OK so I had pieced together my plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, sprains and other joint pain, but reading about clicking bones, fatigue, sitting in funny positions, IBS and a whole host of other things was truly enlightening. Having been called a hypochondriac all my life. I figured everyone must get these niggles and pains, twitches and spasms but that I just vocalise them too much. This book taught me I was wrong and that in fact I had grown up with a medical condition I had no idea about.Reading about the fatigue in particular was the highlight for me, having being called lazy for years. When my friends want to go out round the town, I just want to stay home and have an early night. The very thought of being out in a crowded pub late at night horrifies me when I'd much rather be tucked up in my warm cosy bed. At the very start of the book, Isobel talks about the fatigue around Christmas festivities. I dread Christmas for this very reason. I don't even host Christmas myself but by 9pm when everyone still wants to celebrate, all I want is my bed. It is so good to see that I am not alone in this and that many people with this condition feel the same way.Lastly I found the pictures totally humerous. Only because I could relate to every one of them - again I had no idea they related to any medical condition. Even as I type, I am sitting here with one leg entwined around the other. When I stand to wash the pots, I always bend one knee and drop my weight onto one leg. I never stand with both legs straight. Both myself and my daughter sit in the W position.This book really is a must for anyone who has (or knows someone who has), or think they might have Hypermobility Syndrome/ Elhers Danlos Syndrome Type III

Thank you for writing this book! I found out about this book after a search for hypermobility on Facebook. I followed the page and bought the kindle version of the book. I am 33 years old and have had chronic pain and problems caused by hypermobility since I was 18. I have seen countless physiotherapists, rhematologists, pain management consultants etc. Although I have had some good advice over the years, I had no idea that other people felt the same as me and went through the same things. I felt alone and event started wondering if the pain was in my head. Finally I have found a place where all of the information is in one place. I am currently awaiting a referral to yet another physio and I think I will bring the book with me so they can recommend it to anyone else who might benefit from it.

I bought this as a sufferer looking for help and advice. It is excellently written and contains a lot of great information. It starts with an excellent description of the condition, it's causes and symptoms. There are great chapters on pain management, kids and alternative therapies which can help. There is an emphasis in some chapters on dancers (the author is a dancer and many dancers are hypermobile) but the advice is also entirely relevant to normal everyday life, so don't be put off by that.Especially well worth getting for family/friends who struggle to understand this 'invisible' condition and the day to day problems it causes.

Someone recently asked me how I managed my hypermobility. My hyper-what now?... I had never heard of it!I went away and did some research, and I kept coming across references to Isobel's book, so decided to purchase it. I think I read it from front to back in one sitting as I was gripped. I found myself nodding (occasionally crying) at just about everything she wrote. I’m so glad I found this book, and through it I have been able to help friends, family and doctors to understand how this condition can cause a set of bizarre and random pains and symptoms. In summary, I found this book to be a great introduction to HMS/EDS and I could totally relate to her stories and explanations without having to wade through the medical jargon. I highly recommend it.