Hi friends,
I thought to cite Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as one of the causes of ligament-loosening from a previous post...but I couldn't resist to search through Google Images, and I found this:
Joints
If you are "double-jointed", it just means that you have extra long ligaments in your joints and can bend them farther than usual.
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flibrary.thinkquest.org%2F5777%2Fimages%2Fjointed.gif&hash=b43f7fb6d57316b0e5ba3586cab2240d)
http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/images/jointed.gif
from: http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/ske7.htm
Actually Neil started a topic like this one:
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=6446.msg66762;topicseen#msg66762
Me replied cutting & pasting as usual (how cleverrr!)
One of many different possibilities is:
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orthop.washington.edu%2F_Rainbow%2FAlbum%2F10357me1e83e78-d83d-427d-96ef-9ef74ac91332.gif&hash=7dc4ac58b67c71cc78b3e279ab017485)
http://www.orthop.washington.edu/_Rainbow/Album/10357me1e83e78-d83d-427d-96ef-9ef74ac91332.gif
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
At least 9 different types of EDS have been identified; symptoms vary depending on which type of EDS a person has.
Symptoms vary depending on which type of EDS a person has.
The most common forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS Type I and II) are characterized by one or more of the following features:
skin problems
soft velvet-like skin
fragile skin that bruises or tears easily
stretchy rubber band-like skin
easy or severe bruising
poor and slow wound healing (usually taking weeks to months to heal)
small harmless bumps under the skin
joint problems
loose unstable joints causing frequent dislocations usually occurring in the shoulders, knees, hips, collar bone or jaw (see figure 1)
double jointedness (hyper extensible joints), extreme in some cases
joint pain from frequent dislocation
eye problems
nearsightedness, occasionally extreme
Less common symptoms that may occur in the more rare forms of EDS include:
gum disease (EDS) VIII)
curvature of the spine (EDS VI)
problems with blood clotting (EDS X)
more serious eye conditions (EDS VI)
pulmonary (lung) problems (EDS IV)
weak blood vessels, intestines or uterus that may lead to more serious complications (EDS IV)
from: http://www.orthop.washington.edu/uw/ehlersdanlos/tabID__3376/ItemID__32/PageID__4/Articles/Default.aspx