Hypermobility might have earned you a few “oohs” and “ahhs” growing up—maybe you could twist into strange positions or casually bend your thumb back to your forearm. But for many, it’s much more than just flexible joints. Hypermobility can influence everything from gut health to circulation, immune response, and even your sense of balance.

So let’s unravel this bendy mystery, look at what it really means, and talk about how to support a hypermobile body—without needing to become a contortionist yogi.

Is This You? Signs You Might Be Hypermobile

Everyone experiences hypermobility differently, and it can often show up in subtle ways that are easy to overlook. Some signs to keep an eye out for include:

• Your thumb can be bent back to touch your forearm (no, that’s not a universal party trick).

• Your knees or elbows extend backwards a little when straightened (this is called hyperextension).

• You experience poor posture or feel like standing upright is more effort than it should be.

• You often feel clumsy or struggle with coordination.

• Aches and pains are a regular part of your day.

• You have flat feet or trouble with foot stability.

• Your skin is stretchy or has a “velvety” texture.

• You’re prone to hernias, varicose veins, or even pelvic organ prolapse.

• Piezogenic papules – small, soft bumps that appear on the heels when standing, caused by fat herniating through connective tissue (see picture below)

• Frequent fatigue, headaches, and a need to lie down or rest often.

• Frequent headaches or migraines.

• You bruise easily or heal slowly from cuts and injuries.

• If several of these feel familiar, hypermobility might be a piece of your health puzzle.
• 

Hypermobility or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?

Now, let’s clear up a common confusion: hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) aren’t exactly the same.

• Hypermobility refers to joints that move beyond the normal range. This can be totally benign or part of a broader condition.

• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a group of connective tissue disorders. The most common subtype, Hypermobile EDS (hEDS), includes joint hypermobility, but also often involves additional features like stretchy skin, chronic pain, frequent injuries, and systemic issues like digestive or immune challenges. The other types of EDS are considered to be rarer and are often connected with specific genetic mutations, whereas hEDS does not have a genetic testing option. It is one of the oldest known causes of bruising and bleeding, and it was described first by Hippocrates in 400 BC.

The difference? EDS, particularly hEDS, has more defined diagnostic criteria, it’s often familial and tends to present more extensively across different body systems.

If you’d like to explore the official diagnostic criteria, the Dysautonomia Support Network has a comprehensive guide here.

The Many Faces of Hypermobility

Hypermobility doesn’t always present the same way for everyone. Some people experience it more internally (such as digestive and reproductive health impacts), while others might deal with more vascular symptoms like varicose veins or POTs. Then there are those whose joints pop and click their way through the day, facing subluxations, dislocations, or even hernias and prolapses. And for many, inflammation is a key player, showing up as histamine issues, migraines, or autoimmune conditions.

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of conditions often linked with hypermobility:

• POTs (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)

• ADHD & ASD

• Lipoedema

• IBS & gut concerns

• Endometriosis

• Autoimmune conditions

• Migraines

• TMJ & dental issues

• Fatigue and sleep problems

• Dysautonomia

• Venous insufficiencies

In one study, 51% of neurodivergent individuals were hypermobile, compared to just 17.5% of neurotypical people. These overlapping conditions often come as a “package deal” thanks to shared root issues like immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation.

Photo by David Hofmann on Unsplash

What’s Going On Beneath the Surface?

Hypermobility is often viewed as a structural issue—joints that bend too far, ligaments that stretch too much—but that’s only part of the picture. Underneath it all, immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation are key drivers. And they don’t just influence joint laxity—they ripple through many systems in the body.

Chronic inflammation plays a central role not only in hypermobility but also in conditions that commonly appear alongside it—like endometriosis, autoimmune disorders, IBS, POTS, ADHD, and more. When the immune system is constantly switched “on,” it uses up valuable resources, contributing to fatigue and leaving the body more vulnerable to further dysfunction.

Gut, Glands, and Gut Feelings

Weakened connective tissue doesn’t stop at the joints—it affects internal structures too. In the gut, this can mean altered motility, leading to constipation, diarrhoea, or both. There’s also an increased risk of SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and intestinal permeability (aka “leaky gut”), which can heighten food sensitivities and drive inflammation even further.

The nervous system often gets caught in the crossfire. Dysautonomia, a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, is common in hypermobility. It keeps the body stuck in sympathetic “fight or flight” mode—affecting digestion, hormone production, immune response, vascular function, and even emotional regulation. It’s like the body’s internal control panel is out of sync.

Structural Stress and Muscle Overload

When collagen—the body’s main structural protein—isn’t working optimally, ligaments can’t do their job properly. Joints become less stable, and muscles are left to pick up the slack. This muscle overcompensation means they’re often overworked and tight, leading to fatigue, stiffness, and a higher risk of injury.

Nearby nerves may also become pinched or overstretched near unstable joints, contributing to chronic pain or sensitivity. Over time, this can lead to altered pain responses—where the body becomes hypersensitive even to minor stimuli.

Hormones and Histamine

It’s not just joints and nerves—internal organ health can also be affected. Lax pelvic ligaments may result in the uterus sitting differently, contributing to pelvic pain, overactive pelvic floor muscles, or prolapse. On top of that, many hypermobile individuals experience increased histamine levels, which can worsen period pain, fuel endometriosis, and further fan the flames of inflammation and immune dysregulation.

Blood Flow and Brain Fog

When blood vessels are stretchy too (as they often are in hypermobility), they may not efficiently send blood back to the brain and upper body. This can lead to orthostatic intolerance and POTS symptoms—things like dizziness, racing heart, heavy legs, tingling, brain fog, and even anxiety. And because the body interprets these blood flow issues as stress, it can perpetuate the sympathetic nervous system loop, feeding into fatigue, inflammation, and emotional overwhelm.

The Viral Connection

Interestingly, certain viral infections like COVID-19 and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can worsen hypermobility-related symptoms. These viruses can increase inflammation, unbalance the immune system, and act as triggers or amplifiers for symptoms that were previously manageable.

Support Strategies for Hypermobility

While it’s not always possible to “fix” hypermobility, there are powerful ways to support your body and improve quality of life, these are a few of them:

• Strength Training: Carefully guided resistance training can help stabilize joints, improve proprioception, and reduce the risk of injury.

• Adequate Protein: Essential for tissue repair, strength, and energy. Adequate protein also helps with blood sugar level stability, an important factor for those with hypermobility.

• Mineral Balance: Key minerals like magnesium, calcium, and zinc support nervous system regulation and muscle health. We can assess mineral status through a HTMA (hair tissue mineral analysis) and also look into your diet to assess for potential gaps.

• Gut Health: Focus on restoring the gut lining and supporting a healthy microbiome to reduce inflammation and improve nutrient absorption.

• Nervous System Support: Practices like mindfulness, breathwork, and even vagal nerve stimulation can help reduce stress, improve digestion, and support immune balance.

Let’s Work Together

If you’ve been nodding along and thinking, “This is me!”—we’re here to help. Whether you’re newly exploring hypermobility or have been managing symptoms for years, working with a practitioner who understands the full picture can make all the difference.

Get in touch today to book a consultation. Let’s build a plan that’s tailored to your unique body and needs.

Because living in a bendy body shouldn’t mean bending over backwards to feel good.

References

1. Caliogna, L., Guerrieri, V., Annunziata, S., Gagliardi, F., Sessa, F., & De Caro, R. (2021). Biomarkers for Ehlers-Danlos syndromes: Is there a role? International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(18), 10138. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221810138
2. Castori, M., Camerota, F., Celletti, C., Danese, C., Santilli, V., & Grammatico, P. (2015). Neurological manifestations of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome(s): A review. Iranian Journal of Neurology, 13(4), 190–208. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4300794/
3. Castori, M., & Voermans, N. C. (2023). Pain in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: A non-diagnostic disabling symptom. Diagnostics, 13(8), 1443. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13081443
4. Chopra, P., Tinkle, B., Hamonet, C., Brock, I., Gompel, A., Bulbena, A., & Francomano, C. (2017). Pain management in the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in Medical Genetics, 175(1), 212–219. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.c.31555
5. Eccles, J. A., Owens, A. P., Mathias, C. J., Umeda, S., & Critchley, H. D. (2022). Joint hypermobility links neurodivergence to dysautonomia and pain. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 797165. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.797165
6. Glans, M., Bejerot, S., & Li, X. (2021). Association between adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and generalised joint hypermobility: A cross-sectional case control comparison. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 143, 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.07.006
7. Kanjwal, K., Saeed, B., Karabin, B., Kanjwal, Y., Grubb, B. P., & Karabin, B. (2023). Dysautonomia, hypermobility spectrum disorders and mast cell activation syndrome: A review of overlapping conditions. Frontiers in Neurology, 14, 1458385. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1458385
8. Wang, E., Ganti, T., Vaou, E., & Hohler, A. (2021). The relationship between mast cell activation syndrome, postural tachycardia syndrome, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Allergy and Asthma Proceedings, 42(3), 243–246. https://doi.org/10.2500/aap.2021.42.210034

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This interview was recorded a few months ago, and you can hear my boy making very cute little chirps in the background (I was nursing him on my lap while I was being interviewed).

In this podcast you will learn:

• Why gut health is so important
• The connection between gut health and acne/skin
• Why & how gut health and anxiety (and depression) can be linked
• Common symptoms of poor gut health
• The difference between IBS and leaky gut (intestinal permeability) syndrome
• What your tongue and nails can tell you about your gut health
• How you can eat and breakdown food, but not absorb it so well (and what to do about it)
• What a healthy gut diet plan looks like (which might be different to what you think!
• What to do when you feel certain foods upset your gut
• The difference between prebiotics and probiotics and why you need both and where to find them
• Whether it’s necessary to buy probiotics
• What to look for in a probiotic if you’re going to buy them
• Gut health supplements demystified 
• How to restore healthy gut flora if it’s out of whack
• Why and how colonic irrigation can destroy your gut forever
• Naturopath’s top tips for good gut health

So far I’ve had great feedback on this, so have a listen and tell me what you think in the comment box below!

You can find the original post here.

The post Gut Health Explained – Podcast appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Perhaps you’ve heard about one of the latest health buzzes when it comes to mental health – a cheeky enzyme known as MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase).

If you have a mutation in this gene then it can cause your methylation processes to work too much, too little, or not enough at all.  Methylation is essentially a process that occurs where DNA gets tagged with a ‘methyl group’ which lets the rest of the body know not to read that particular bit of DNA.  It’s also involved in the production of neurotransmitters, detoxification of chemicals, nerve health and processing of certain hormones and nutrients, to name just a few.

When the MTHFR genes work properly, you have adequate enzyme activity and that means you can more efficiently make proteins, use antioxidants, metabolize hormones, enjoy more stable brain chemistry, better eliminate toxins and heavy metals, and manage inflammation.  So if you’ve got a problem with this gene, it really can be a bugger.

How does it affect your mood?

Many people with the MTHFR gene experience mood imbalances.  This gene affects your mood in a few ways.

Reduced MTHFR enzyme means that you cannot make and recycle a very important antioxidant, glutathione effectively.  Glutathione is responsible for a vast array of activities in the body and low levels have been associated with conditions such as depression, inflammation, bipolar, chronic fatigue syndrome and autism.

If your body cannot methylate the chemical homocysteine (you can find out if this is too high via a blood test) that results in decreased production of SAMe.  This leads to decreased production of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, neurotransmitters all responsible for mood balance.

If there is a reduced ability to detoxify chemicals and heavy metals (which is a factor for those with the MTHFR gene) this can also affect your mood.  Digestive and liver health can have an indirect affect on your mental health, for several reasons such as the health of your gut flora, increased inflammation and an impact on your neurotransmitters.  Digestive health problems have been linked to mental health problems in several studies.  Click here to read more.

A lot of people with MTHFR gene also have a condition called Pyroluria (also known as Pyrolle disorder, Mauve factor, Kryptopyrrole, Kryptopyrroluria.  People with this condition produce excess amounts of a substance called Pyrolles which bind to certain nutrients such as Vitamin B6, Biotin Zinc and GLA (an essential fatty acid).  There are several conditions associated with this disorder but namely it is involved in several mental health conditions such as Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Manic depression and ADD/ADHD.  This condition is also strongly linked to the state of the digestive system.

MTHFR and Folate

One of the main issues we have come to understand with MTHFR is that people with this gene cannot process folic acid into folate effectively and so cannot handle synthetic forms of the nutrient.  This can become a bit of an issue because synthetic folic acid is in pretty much every multi-vitamin, and a lot of foods are fortified with it.  If you are consuming synthetic folic acid and you can’t process it, it clogs up a lot of the pathways that require folate and as a result a lot of health complications arise.  You can also be prone to problems relating to deficiencies of folate, such as miscarriage and neural tube defects.

Photo by Braňo on Unsplash

People with MTHFR require a special activated form of this nutrient, the type found naturally in some foods.   How much depends on the level of the gene mutations present (there’s a lot of variety that you can have) and your diet and lifestyle can have a big impact on it as well – it’s completely possible to have this gene and be symptom free and healthy if your diet and lifestyle is fine, and the gene hasn’t been ‘switched on’ (usually by stressful events).  In Australia the closest to natural folate that we have available is folinic acid (calcium folinate) supplements, however this may still be difficult to metabolise for those who have very poor methylation.

Getting tested

If you suspect that you have this gene, then you can easily get yourself tested via labs such as Healthscope, Nutripath or 23 and Me.  You may like to get this organized with a health practitioner who is knowledgeable in the realm of MTHFR, so they can guide you with treatment if needed.

Learn more: MTHFR_Related_Health_Problems

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When your gut controls your mood: the gut-brain axis

From as early as the 1930’s, scientists were beginning to understand that the health of our digestive system could influence our mood.  The state of our intestinal lining and the balance of bacteria within our digestive system have a major role to play in the production of our neurotransmitters: chemical transmitters that tell our brain whether we should be feeling such ways as happy, sad, agitated, or calm.  But even though the research in this area sky-rocketed in the last decade and continues to grow every day, the concept of our gut-brain connection isn’t very well known.

The gut is linked to the brain

Did you know – When you were just starting to grow in your Mumma’s womb, your brain and your digestive system developed from the same lump of tissue.  During this process of dividing up cells (embryogenesis) this lump of tissue divides and forms our central nervous system and our enteric nervous system (this is the nervous system of our gut – sometimes called the second brain).  These two are connected by an important ‘wire’ – our vagus nerve.  This development can help us understand why there are so many similar chemicals and receptors in both our brain and our digestive system, for instance serotonin.

Gut bugs and your mood

As soon as you’re born, bacterial colonies start to develop in your digestive system.  Within the first few days, the bacteria starts sending messages to the nervous system and can actually determine our nervous system ‘set point’ long term (1).

When the balance of our gut bacteria (collectively referred to as the microbiome) is affected, this can affect your mood.  Studies have found that the microbiome can have a major impact on stress levels and anxiety (2).  In fact, by treating imbalances in our microbiota, it is possible to support a wide range of mental health disorders (3), (4), (5), (6), (7).

The second brain

The nerves in your digestive system are constantly speaking to your central nervous system.  If your gut is irritated for some reason – say you’ve eaten something that you’re intolerant to (like gluten, for example), you’ve generally got a bad diet, there’s an imbalance in your microbiome (that’s your collective gut bacteria, remember) or you’ve got an infection – this can create an inflammatory reaction and will certainly make you irritated as well.  We know that depression is both associated with, and worsened by inflammation.  This inflammation in the brain can be driven by inflammation in the gut, which can be caused by intestinal permeability (leaky gut) and bacterial imbalances (dysbiosis).  Treating leaky gut can help reduce the severity of depression (4), (8), (9), (10), (11).

Neurotransmitters in our gut

Serotonin is produced in large amounts in our digestive system.  In people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) there is too much serotonin in their digestive system.  This is why antidepressants known as SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) can improve the symptoms of IBS: these act by reducing the amount of serotonin taken into cells in the rest of our body which allows more to get into the brain.  However anti-depressants can affect the gut negatively as well, because if you weren’t making enough serotonin in the gut in the first place, you’d end up with even lower levels in the digestive tract and so it can become irritated, affectively you’ll get a depressed gut (12), (13).

A vicious cycle

When your gut is upset, you feel upset.  But stress can affect your digestive system just as much as it affects your mood.  It can impair the secretion of digestive acids, slow down the motility of the gut, allows the unfriendly bacteria to grow, reduces your friendly bacteria and exacerbates intestinal permeability (leaky gut) (14), (8).  This is a recipe for an unhappy digestive system, and as you know this can then go on to send more messages to your brain: so you can see how the cycle continues.

People with gut problems are more likely to experience anxiety and depression.  Some studies have found a high proportion of anxiety in those with gut conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS), Crohn’s disease and coeliac disease (15), (16), (17).

Helping the gut-brain axis.

By treating digestive problems, sealing leaky gut and balancing your microbiome it is possible to help with conditions such as anxiety and depression, and there’s even research showing the benefits of treating the gut in conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, schizophrenia and autism (10), (18), (11).  Probiotics are one of your major tools when it comes to treating the gut, but it’s a good idea to consult with a health practitioner to make sure you’re getting the right type, and also to get a good gut healing treatment program to go along with it ⁽¹⁹⁾, (4), (9).

Related articles:

• Probiotic stress busters: http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/probiotic-stress-busters
• Depression starts in the gut?:  http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/depression-begins-in-the-gut
• What is Dysbiosis: http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/what-is-dysbiosis
• Fermented foods (foods to stop bloating and farting): http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/foods-to-stop-bloating-and-farting-fermented-foods
• Enhance your health with probiotics: http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/enhance-your-health-with-probiotics
• The benefits of soaking and sprouting: http://www.naturopathnsw.com.au/the-benefits-of-soaking-and-sprouting-plus-a-sprouted-chickpea-hummus-recipe

Works Cited

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