Double Jointed? It Could Be the Cause of Migraine
Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2011/03/22 - Updated: 2022/05/07
Topic: Migraines and Headaches - Publications List
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main
Synopsis: People with joint hyper-mobility syndrome, a severe form of being double-jointed, have a greater chance of suffering from migraines. For most people, being double-jointed is seen as a common, harmless condition. But Vincent Martin, MD, UC Health physician and headache expert, says being extremely double-jointed could be the precursor and cause of excruciating migraines and other problems.
Introduction
A recently published study by Martin and colleagues, including Brad Tinkle, MD, PhD, from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, in the journal Cephalalgia showed that people with joint hyper-mobility syndrome, a severe form of double-jointedness, have a greater chance of suffering from migraines.
Main Item
For most people, being double-jointed is seen as a common, harmless condition. But Vincent Martin, MD, UC Health physician and headache expert, says being extremely double-jointed could be the precursor and cause of excruciating migraines and other problems.
Joint hyper-mobility syndrome is a condition where joints easily move beyond their normal range and often affects women. There is a genetic component to the illness, and it tends to run in families. Genes that are responsible for the production of collagen, an important protein that helps glue tissues together, are suspected to play a role.
The syndrome typically causes other joint pain, leading to misdiagnosis.
"Joint hyper-mobility syndrome is very common and impacts roughly 10 to 15 percent of the entire female population," says Martin, who also has the syndrome and experiences migraines. "Preliminary studies suggested that headache disorders are more common in patients with joint hyper-mobility syndrome.
"We wanted to determine if the prevalence, frequency, and disability of migraine differ between female patients with the syndrome and a control population."
Using interviews and written questionnaires, researchers compared 28 women with the syndrome with 232 women from two primary care practices. They found that 75 percent of patients with joint hyper-mobility syndrome also got migraines, while only 43 percent suffered from migraines in the comparison group. After assessing age and gender differences between the groups, those with joint hyper-mobility had three times the risk of migraines. Women in this group also experienced migraines nearly twice as many days each month and were more likely to experience visual disturbances called "aura" preceding the pain of a migraine attack.
"The results show that this common clinical disorder is strongly associated with an increased prevalence, frequency, and disability of migraine in females," Martin says. "The patients in the study were selected from a specialty connective tissue clinic, so our next step is to test whether this is the same in less severe cases by using patients in a regular primary care clinic. In bringing attention to this link, we hope that patients can be diagnosed earlier, leading to quicker treatments."
In addition, individuals who are double-jointed might want to consider seeing a specialist if they have recurrent, debilitating migraines or experience the following:
- Fibromyalgia.
- Leaky heart valves.
- Anxiety and depression.
- Moderate to severe arthritis.
- Neck pain or herniated discs.
- Dislocation and sprains in joints.
- TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), or inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which connects the mandible to the skull.
"There are treatments that can greatly improve the quality of life for those with the syndrome, but the correct diagnosis needs to be made first," Martin says.
Author Credentials: Ian was born and grew up in Australia. Since then, he has traveled and lived in numerous locations and currently resides in Montreal, Canada. Ian is the founder, a writer, and editor in chief for Disabled World. Ian believes in the Social Model of Disability, a belief developed by disabled people in the 1970s. The social model changes the focus away from people's impairments and towards removing barriers that disabled people face daily. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and achievements, check out his bio.