Why Some People Are Bendy AF | Surgeon Explains EXTREME CONTORTION and Ehler Danlos Syndrome

In this video orthopedic surgeon Dr Chris Raynor examines why some people are so bending and determines how some extreme contortion movements are possible. #contortion #jointhypermobility #bendy

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[siali]

As a circus artist (currently in training again), I absolutely loved this video.
Not only is it rare to see someone acknowledge that the performers in circus are really athletic, but seeing those disciplines being spoken about in such a respectful manner is really refreshing.
Thank you so, so much. Even though I'm not a contortionist, I still learned a lot.

[zorosal]

sorry I can't do this anymore, my back is starting to hurt

[ryanr]

As someone living with Ehlers, I can confirm that dislocations aren't a big deal for some people with Ehlers. After a car accident in 94, my shoulder will dislocate and go back in with very little force. I've had tons of other injuries from Ehlers, since the general pain level of Ehlers (you tend to ache from overdoing things) masks other things. Like breaking ankle and having it heal without knowing it was broken or having a broken wrist for a month before going to the doctor to get it checked.

[SeabassFishbrains]

As a former circus artist, former ballet dancer, and EDS-er, I'm really glad to see you cover this with your platform! I have dealt with pain and higher rates of injury and arthritis for my whole life but I was mostly fine until I really wasn't. As long as I was training and staying strong I was doing well but after I destroyed my knee at age 19 and was completely unable to train it was like my entire body and my whole life fell apart and I have been disabled ever since. Tons of my former colleagues in circus were also diagnosed with EDS (including my old physio, Dr. Jen Crane of Cirque Physio) and many are still in great shape due to excellent, continuous training, but many of my friends with EDS are severely arthritic and mobility impaired like I am. EDS is very much a tightwire act with no net, we can perform incredible feats when we are at our best but when we fall, we fall hard.

[elultimo]

My baby sitter could always be considered obese; yet she was "double-jointed" such that she could bend at the waist and easily have her arms flat on the floor. I heard many such as she develop severe arthritis in old age. This did happen to her, and she needed a walker for the last years of her life. She died in her 80s, unable to walk unassisted.

[petrapedia]

Thank you so very much for covering this and using your platform to spread awareness. I've requested this subject a couple times and teared up to suddenly come across it in my feed.

[D.von.N]

The general consensus is not to exercise before bedtime. However, my go to was stretching and mild strengthening exercises shortly before bed time. They incredibly relaxed my body and I felt many years younger when I finally laid into bed. It was awesome. We have evolved to spend certain time of our day being active. That is what makes us feel good. When I don't exercise at all I feel like being a burden to myself, lacking energy, motivation, muscles unhappy and wanting to do something. Exercise keeps us sane. People should start with moving when they find themselves dissatisfied with life, before they reach for substances. We produce our own when we exercise. Those are much better.

[TommyShlong]

This really stretched my understanding of anatomy and flexibility. Thanks!

[circuszebra]

As an aerial acrobat with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome I found this video incredibly interesting. I train my hypermobility with passive and active flexibility; it’s so important to train actively so I can hold myself together without full dislocations.

I’m so glad you made this video! I requested this ages ago and finally I get to see some content from you covering my condition! Thank you!

[jodyrobertson]

As far as back pain sleeping on the floor has made a huge difference for me, it hurt at first but now if I lay out of bed my back hurts even more

[Tiggmuffin]

This is my take on ehlers-danlos syndrome, it's weird, so weird, ego filled drs can miss so much and call us crazy for it! I have had wonderful and horrible drs. It's so much more than hypermobility, one of my eyes didn't form properly, I can see just fine, but its mostly collagen....so some of it literally doesn't exsist. I went for 20 years complaining about periods, got so many different scans, turned out I was born with a unicornate more common with eds (its pretty rare) but isn't 100% linked to it yet. The most "entertaining" to me currently is that I've had issues breathing through my nose as long as I can remember, always have a sinus just found a dr that really listened...I was born with total nasal bridge collapse in both sides...how did I make it till 40! I'm working with about half the amount of oxygen when I breathe, the more I try to breathe through my nose the less I can do it. It's a wild spectrum disorder....the take away from my story is please advocate for yourself, you live in your body, don't let anyone tell you your pain isn't valid! Hope everyone here from the dazzle are doing well and fighting hard!!

[melsgalleria]

I will say as someone diagnosed with HEDS, I have to say that even though they say recommend that we do not do the extra bendy stuff as it can damage the joints more. I find sitting in normal positions more painful and sitting in hyperextended positions to be more comfortable. I think one of the more sucky parts other than easy injury, is the other comorbid conditions such as POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), MCAS, gastroparisis, and many other issues. As he said though it is a spectrum, I know people that have far more subluxations and dislocations than I do. Some that have less issues, so it depends.

[harryhill]

Yep. I have a friend who was super bendy when younger she was into gymnastics and was even in a circus at one point. She is now in a wheelchair and has been told its EDS. When I shared info about EDS with others who were hyper flexible the response was total hostility, as if just speaking about it was going to cause EDS. There is definitely a head in the sand approach to this issue, which odd seeing as there are so many mostly females who are social media famous due to flexibility but simply do not want to know their condition may not be a sign of fitness but actually a disorder which can cause real issues later down the line. The other issue is that many medics do not even consider it a real issue so this head in the sand approach will only ensure no funding goes into research or treatment of EDS.

[warrens.]

Chris, I have been a Youtube fanatic for years and think that you are totally killing it!!!! You truly have some of the best content and editing that Youtube has to offer right now. So give yourself a firm pat on the back because you are giving a high quality learning experience to hundreds of thousands of people, for free! And I think that is just amazing.. I love having all this knowledge and experience on the most random topics at my fingertips- Youtube is one of my favorite learning tools in this regard but it is really all made possible by people like you. So thank you so much!!! I look forward to seeing your channel continue to grow and flourish!!!

[CertainExposures]

I’m halfway through and wondering if any of these contortionists ever “forget” where their limbs are in space and get “stuck.” E.g, like a gymnast getting the twisties but mid stretch instead of up in the air.

[SakuragiLastname]

You have the most swag out of any doctor I've ever seen

[callmekells]

Wow thanks for bringing some awareness to EDS! I have the hyper mobile type. Hyper mobility can be a GIFT if you learn how to stabilize! It is amazing what our bodies are capable of doing! Right now I’m getting into yoga, isometrics and calesethics . And I do light weight training 3x a week to strengthen the major muscle groups, especially the lats and core.
Also- I’m learning with my hyper mobility that I deeply lack spacial awareness so I’ve been trying to practice kinesiology, especially with my knees I have to consciously work to keep them from bending backwards. Since EDS is a collagen production disorder (depending on the type) bone marrow and beef bone broth have been incredible for me.

[edwardcrow]

I was born with the ability to dislocate every joint in my body when I was a kid. I originally wanted to be a ballet dancer but our situation growing up didn't allow it. But I still practiced my stretches just to keep my flexibility. Even when I became fat! It would really throw kids off to see the chubby kid be able to keep up with the same stretches one of the ballet dancers was doing! now I'm 23 and I can still drop and do the splits on a dime, though i often tell people I cheat by popping the ball and socket joints in my hips to go all the way down haha!

[summersalix]

I’m so excited to see this! I have eds and I’m always happy to see more information out about it.

[Aquaticsoul]

And then you cover my condition (hEDS is mine specifically)... thank you so much once again! Trying to educate some of the doctors this side, and struggling to find proper support in Namibia. Just really appreciate this.