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Dr Laurent Grange (Rheumatologist)
American singer Billie Eilish has just made a revelation about her state of health, in an interview with Vogue magazine. She suffers from a disorder called hypermobility. How is this symptom defined? How does it manifest? The answers of Dr Laurent Grange, rheumatologist at the Grenoble Alpes University Hospital and member of the Doctissimo expert committee.
Aged 21, American star Billie Eilish looks back on the evil that has been eating away at her for years. “I went through adolescence hating everything, including myself. A lot of it came from the anger I felt towards my body. The pain it was causing me was driving me crazy, I I lost so much because of it”.
The young woman talks about the hypermobility that affects her, “also called joint hypermobility syndrome” specifies Dr. Laurent Grange, rheumatologist and member of the Doctissimo expert committee.
What is hypermobility?
This is a symptom encountered regularly in rheumatology and is defined as “the ability of a joint or a group of joints to move, passively and/or actively, beyond the physiological limits accepted for age” first defines Dr. Grange.
Hypermobility can be asymptomatic for the affected person. “This is the case for hypermobile contortionists or gymnasts, for whom this hypermobility will represent an advantage, in a way” confirms the doctor. But sometimes, it can be very painful, as for Billie Eilish. Depending on the case, hypermobility can also be localized and concern the extremities only, for example or generalized to the whole body.
“Hypermobility can be measured by a specific calculation, called the Beighton scoresays the rheumatologist.But beyond this measure, it is above all the complications that the disease can cause that must be estimated.“.
Indeed, hypermobility promotes traumatic episodes such as sprains, subluxations or dislocations but also muscle or tendon tears. It can also cause chronic pain.secondary to these traumatic lesions but also following a central sensitization“adds the doctor.
Diagnosis and treatment of hypermobility
“In practice, the first step consists in specifying whether there is indeed joint hypermobility, whether it is localized or generalized. Subsequently, the search for extra-articular signs can point to a disease, most often genetic.” explains Dr. Grange again. Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) are the genetic diseases most associated with hypermobility.
Regarding treatments,they are not curative but rather are treatments to alleviate the pain – analgesics – and improve the patient’s quality of life, such as physiotherapy, physiotherapy“says the rheumatologist again.”Muscle relaxants and certain treatments can also be prescribed to treat osteoarthritis, which is aggravated in the context of this pathology.” concludes the doctor.