MEET DR. SCHROEDER

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Since being diagnosed with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder herself back in graduate school, Dr. Schroeder has dedicated her career to studying hypermobility and helping those who have, or think they may have a similar issue. Personal experience has given Dr. Schroeder the gift of truly understanding the condition, as well as the toll it takes on the body, both physically and mentally. She created this clinic as a safe space for patients to be heard and strives to be a resource for patients, caregivers, and other health care, practitioners. Given her vast knowledge and expertise on the subject, Dr. Schroeder becomes many patient's focal point of care and offers clinical care coordination for her patients to help ensure they well taken care of in the local medical community!

Hypermobility means your joints can move beyond the normal range of motion. You may also hear the term double-jointed. This means your joints are very flexible. The most commonly affected joints are your elbows, wrists, fingers, and knees. In most people, hypermobility doesn't cause any pain or medical issues

Joint hypermobility syndrome is a connective tissue disorder. Thick bands of tissue (ligaments) hold your joints together and keep them from moving too much or too far out of range. In people with joint hypermobility syndrome, those ligaments are loose or weak. If you have joints that are more flexible than normal and it causes you pain, you may have joint hypermobility syndrome.

Joint hypermobility is very common. Hypermobility means your joints can move beyond the normal range of motion. You may also hear the term double-jointed. This means your joints are very flexible. The most commonly affected joints are your elbows, wrists, fingers, and knees.

In most people, hypermobility doesn’t cause any pain or medical issues. However, for some people, hypermobility causes joint-pain, joint and ligament injuries, tiredness (fatigue), bowel issues, and other symptoms. Joint hypermobility syndrome is most common in children and young people. It affects people assigned female at birth (AFAB) and people of Asian and Afro-Caribbean descent more often. 

Joint hypermobility syndrome can be a sign of a more serious underlying genetic condition. These conditions are called Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue (HDCT). "Rare" medical conditions associated with joint hypermobility syndrome include:

• Elhers-Danlos Syndrome: A group of conditions that affect your cartilage, bone, fat, and blood. A defect in collagen — the protein that adds flexibility and strength to your connective tissue — causes this syndrome.
• Marfan Syndrome:  A condition that affects your connective tissue. A defect in the gene responsible for building fibrillin and elastic fibers — a major part of your connective tissue — causes this syndrome.
• Down Syndrome:  A genetic disorder that affects the way your brain and body develop. People with Down syndrome are born with an extra chromosome.

The most common symptom of joint hypermobility syndrome is a pain in your joints and muscles. Other symptoms may include:

• Frequent joint and ligament injuries, including dislocations and sprains.
• Joint and muscle stiffness.
• Swelling or pooling in the extremities
• Tiredness (fatigue).
• Clumsiness/poor balance.
• Bladder and bowel issues.
• Dizziness and fainting.
• Thin, stretchy skin.
• Mental health disorders such as anxiety & depression, Autism and ADD/ADHD

The exact cause of joint hypermobility syndrome isn’t known. However, the disorder tends to run in families. The genes that are involved in the creation of collagen are believed to play a role. Collagen is the protein that adds flexibility and strength to your joints, ligaments, and tendons. People with joint hypermobility syndrome have loose joints because they have weak ligaments. They have weak ligaments because of the defect in their collagen.