Bendy Life

Last year, I had an Orthopaedic Assessment for my subluxing left knee . It ended up as an assessment of most of my joints, and I was diagnosed with Hypermobility Syndrome. I was referred on for physiotherapy (mainly for my knee) to strengthen the muscles round the joints and hopefully lessen the chance of subluxations/dislocations. I started physio in the area I lived, but this stopped when I moved out of the area.

There were a lot of things to sort out during & after the move, and my worsening health meant that getting referred for physio near my new home was on the back-burner for a while. I finally got to a point where it felt like a good time to start physio again. I dreaded the idea of having to give my life story to a stranger again; with the worry that my physical difficulties would be underestimated (which felt like the case with my previous physio!)

I had my first physio session last Friday and was very pleased with it! The physio was lovely! She was so understanding, considerate, and she listened to me. It turns out that she has Hypermobility Syndrome too! She examined me and saw how I stood, walked etc. Because I have frequent dislocations, she told me that my Hypermobility Syndrome is severe. 

She asked me what I hoped to achieve from these sessions. I said that I would like to have less subluxations and a little more stability in my hips so I could walk a bit more. If I can physically go on a walk (no matter how short) then I have more chance of improving my agoraphobia. At the moment, I'm finding that my physical problems worsen some of my mental health ones.

When talking through (and getting me to try) exercises, she would listen to my concerns and notice if certain exercises were causing more strain/pain than they should. This was so different to the last physio; who implied I simply was reluctant to exercise...

As well as exercises, the physio suggested insole arch supports (as she noticed the arches in my feet are quite low) as well as kinesio tape so that my joints are less likely to pop out while I exercise.

I see her next in a couple of weeks, where I will be trying exercises while wearing kinesio tape. I've never used this before, so am interested to find out if it'll help.