Hypermobility in Children
Have you been told that your child is hypermobile or double jointed? Are you concerned that your child is hypermobile? This is a very common situation and is seen and treated frequently and BOOST PHYSIO. BOOST PHYSIO hosted excellent Paediatric Rheumatologist Dr Nathan Hasson, on Thursday 19 January 2012, to talk to our staff about his approach to Hypermobility in kids.
Dr Nathan Hasson- Paediatric Rheumatologist with an interest in Hypermobility
Dr Hasson is a Consultant Paediatrician at Great Ormond Street Hospital and consults privately in North West London at The Garden Hospital and 999 Finchley Road Medical Centre. What impressed my staff was not only Dr Hasson’s broad and deep knowledge of the subject matter (something one expects from a consultant!), but his kind, caring and genuine interest came through very strongly. Dr Hasson has a particular interest in dealing with children who are hypermobile, or who suffer from painful joints or muscles. You can view Dr Hasson’s website here.
I was refreshed by Dr Hasson’s attitude towards Hypermobility in children, it is such a common situation that he seems to view it almost as a variation in the normal spectrum of how flexible a child is, rather than a disease or illness. In fact it would seem that the issue with hypermobility in children is not that they are hypermobile, but they are weak and have poorly developed muscles. Case in point gymnasts, ballerinas and circus performers are all hypermobile- but they are also strong and have well developed muscles.
It seems that over the last 10 years there has been an explosion of children with hypermobility. The actual prevelance of the condition cannot be that different to 20 years ago, this increase I believe is due to increased awareness about the condition and the fact that our children are more sedentary getting less exercise (due to TV watching, computer games etc) and have poorly developed muscle strength. As a result the hypermobility causes these children who are also weak pain and leads them to seek medical advice.
In a way the diagnosis for children with hypermobility should probably be muscle weakness rather than
Exercises to strengthen the knees for hypermobile children
hypermobility.
Our physiotherapy treatment approach for Hypermobility in children at BOOST PHYSIO is a fun and dynamic strengthening exercise programme to build muscle strength, endurance and control among these children. We find that once these children are stronger they have less pain and less trouble.
Physiotherapy treatment At BOOST PHYSIO, NW London, for children with hypermobility begins with a thorough assessment and examination. We then formulate the necessary strengthening programme for the child to address particular areas of weakness.
BOOST PHYSIO Hendon NW London
Mon-Thurs 8am-9pm
Fri 8am-3pm
Sat/Sun 9am-6pm
BOOST PHYSIO works with major insurance companies like: BUPA, AVIVA, WPA, CIGNA and Simplyhealth. We usually deal directly with your insurance company.
