Experiences with hypermobility?
I deal with a lot of joint pain and stiffness on a regular basis and have since my mid 20s (I'm 31 now) and I'm wondering if anyone has had similar experiences or insights since autism and hypermobility are frequently comorbid. I've always been fairly flexible (I can almost do the splits and can put my palms on the floor with my knees straight) but not to what I consider a notable degree. Most of my pain seems to be on the left side of my body (shoulder, hip, and knee especially).
My experiences include:
- fallen arches and frequent foot pain
- a propensity for sports injuries. I used to be an avid runner but have been injured SO MANY TIMES. It's hard for me to maintain a regular exercise routine because I'm always pulling a muscle or fending off knee pain.
- easily cracking joints. My knees & shoulders crack ALL OF THE TIME. Like, I wake up and stretch and both of my knees crack (sometimes my ankles too). My knees crack a lot when I walk too, and I have a "trick shoulder" I can pop pretty much anytime just by straightening my arm and flexing the joint out/inwards)
- joints that feel compressed or out of socket. I've had to have my partner pop my hip back into socket (at least that's how it feels) by applying pressure to the back of the joint at least a couple of times. This last time it was so bad it was causing nerve pain down the side of my leg that immediately disappeared afterwards. -hip/knee pain & stiffness when sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time. Car rides are hell for me, especially when I'm driving and can't constantly adjust my sitting position (feet down, feet up, crosslegged, etc). Either way, anything over about an hour leaves me extremely stiff and sore and it takes a bit after getting out of the car for me to be able to walk normally. Being on my feet for more than a few consecutive hours (at work especially) also leads to pain and stiffness that cause cause me to walk with a bobble/uneven gait.
- I'm also prone to fatigue and GI issues which I know can be symptoms of hypermobility as well
Obviously NOT seeking diagnosis just wondering if it's worth mentioning to my doctor the next time I visit or if anyone has suggestions for anything I can do to mitigate some of my symptoms.
Tl;dr - wondering if I'm hypermobile and what others experiences with it are like
Posted Sep 3, 2025, 6:20 PM UTC