Healing hEDS/HSD
The following brief summary is excerpted from Hypermobile and Happy. Be sure to read the book to get more detailed information, including source citations.
Can hEDS/HSD be cured? For most people with a hypermobility syndrome, our connective tissue is problematic due to our inherited genetic profile. We will always have these genes. Still, there are ways to reduce and prevent the symptoms caused by the connective tissue disorder.
Even more encouraging is the fact that genes can express themselves in different ways. This ability is called epigenetics, and it explains why identical twins with identical genes can have different behaviors and health profiles.[i] What we experience, what we do, the foods we eat, the toxins and viruses we are exposed to — all of these factors and many more could potentially turn genes on or off or change the way they are expressed.
No matter what mechanism is responsible for changes in our bodies, I truly believe that at least some of us can make the changes that equate to recovering from the symptoms of hEDS/HSD. In order to do this, we need to turn our focus from treating symptoms, even though that will still be important. We need to take responsibility for ourselves and focus on teaching our bodies to work in a different way.
Are pharmaceutical medications a good choice? Most of the medications available to us treat only symptoms and bring along a host of undesirable side effects; sometimes they even make the diseases they treat progress more quickly, though possibly less miserably. While I was writing this book, I learned about a young woman with hEDS who died of liver failure, leaving behind a grieving husband and young son. The woman’s heartbroken mother said that the liver failure was brought about by all of the medications the woman was taking due to her hEDS. I pray that from now on, we can be successful in treating our hypermobility condition with natural techniques so that no family has to experience that sadness again.
Are natural and holistic treatments a good choice? Natural treatments are generally safer, though subtler, than most medications and over time can make real changes in our bodies. Be cautious, though, as even natural treatments can have adverse effects and might be dangerous. You must take responsibility for learning the risks and evaluating them.
Fortunately, we are designed for this. Although people with hEDS often have diminished proprioception (sense of the body’s position and movement) that can make us clumsy, we tend to have heightened interoception (sense of the condition inside the body) that can make us wise about our own bodies. Doctors sometimes inappropriately blame our strong interoception for our extreme though accurate reports of pain, but in fact, having heightened interoception can be a useful tool in determining if the treatments we use are working or not. We can recognize our pain, and we can also pay attention to our heart beat, breath, hunger, muscle contractions, and everything that is going on inside us.
What does healing hEDS/HSD entail? In a nutshell, if we:
get the nutrients our bodies need to make sufficient amounts of connective tissues, even though it may still be faulty,
prevent injuries, whether severe or microscopic, to our joints, blood vessels, and nervous system,
avoid exposures to substances and experiences that are harmful to us in our vulnerable condition, and
heal and soothe our bodies into a condition of safety and happiness...
we can potentially train our bodies to be healthy. Our nervous systems will start operating normally so that we won’t experience dysautonomia, anxiety, gastrointestinal distress, and heightened immune system activation. Our muscles will be strong and well trained so that we will move comfortably without harming ourselves. It may even be possible for us to affect how the genes express themselves.
Is it difficult to use natural treatments? The treatments in this book are mostly inexpensive, easy to find, and easy to use. They generally fall into four important categories:
simple exercises
herbal and nutritional supplements
alternative bodywork therapies
lifestyle changes
Buy Hypermobile and Happy now to get a thorough explanation of all of the natural and holistic healing treatments for the most common hypermobility-related symptoms, and much more!