Learn More About Hypermobility Conditions
If you’re looking to learn more about Hypermobility Conditions, this is the best place to start on our website.
Find help getting a diagnosis in Australia.
Getting the right diagnosis is a crucial part of the hypermobility journey. However, hypermobility conditions are still under recognised, making diagnosis challenging. This page might help you start working out who you need to see in your state or territory.
Find a Health Professional
Are you looking for a health professional in Australia who has an interest in working with people with hypermobility? You are welcome to email us and we will provide you with names if we are able.
Feel less alone!
Reading the blog posts of others who are living a life with hypermobility can be reassuring, comforting and can help reduce feelings of isolation.
We also have a Facebook Group for our Hypermobility Connect community which is a helpful, hopeful and healthy place to learn and share life with hypermobility.
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My health professional is AMAZING and I want to share their details with you!
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I’m a Health professional & would love to write!
We are always looking for health professionals to voluntarily contribute a piece to our blog from their professional perspective. If this sounds like you, please apply now!
10 tips for surviving conference day
If you’re heading to the Ehlers-Danlos Society Learning Conference in Australia in December, here are my 10 tips for surviving conference day, from a seasoned conference attendee! 1. Stay hydrated The venue will be air-conditioned which for some people tends to wreak havoc with hydration. Remember your water bottle, and make sure you drink lots […]
7 ways to crisis-proof the holidays with hypermobility
This time of year can be stressful, as well as exciting and joyful. To keep the stress to a minimum we’ve come up with 7 ways to crisis-proof the holidays with hypermobility. 1. Prescriptions If you’re anything like me, you realise you’re about to run out of medication the night before or the day that […]
Your Guide to Accessing the EDS Conference Sydney
I visited the Ehlers-Danlos Society Learning Conference venue at Macquarie University in October in preparation for the Conference in Sydney this Dec 7-8. Here is what I found and wanted to share with you to make it the best experience possible. GETTING THERE The Macquarie University train station is CLOSED. That means buses are replacing […]
Go see your doctor when you’re well
What a novel idea! Go see your doctor when you’re well? Why would you do that? We usually only go to the doctors when something is wrong. Makes sense, right? I mean they’re there to make us better aren’t they? Let’s think about it differently. We go to our doctor or specialists every time something […]
Do-re-mi-eds-pots-mcad-ocd medical dic-tion-ary
What alphabet do you use? The medical abbreviations that are common in the lives of a person with a chronic illness? You know, the do-re-mi-eds-pots-mcad-ocd medical dictionary? Do they define you or are they just a background alphabet to your life? Growing up I loved the movie ‘The Sound of Music’; I’m pretty sure my […]
What if my OT doesn’t understand hypermobility?
All occupational therapists have similar core skills, the ones taught in university. Where we end up after university determines the solidifying of our core skills and the development of skills in more niche areas. Which Occupational Therapist you end up seeing often comes down to access and availability, and that varies based on where you […]
When is the right time to see an occupational therapist?
People often hold off seeing health professionals until things are really, really bad. They think “Oh, I’ll just see if I can cope a little longer on my own”. When it comes to Occupational Therapy, we can play a role in your healthcare from pre-diagnosis, through diagnosis, adjustment and long-term planning. So when is the […]
Why see an Occupational Therapist?
So why would you see an Occupational therapist? There are many reasons why! Occupational Therapists (OTs) are trained allied health professionals who work in a range of settings, from hospitals and nursing homes to private practice and schools. No matter the context of employment, OTs are always working towards the same thing: helping patients/clients achieve […]
Our 4 Part Mission Statement
Recognise
- To increase awareness & recognition of hypermobility conditions across both the medical and general communities. Earlier recognition leads to better management and improved quality of life for people living with these conditions.
- For some conditions (Marfan Syndrome, Loeys-Dietz Syndrome and Vascular EDS) early recognition can mean the difference between LIFE & DEATH.
Educate
- To educate medical and allied health professionals about hypermobility and it’s related conditions
- To educate people living with hypermobility-related conditions about their condition and options for treatments and management
- To educate the wider community about the real-life impacts of hypermobility on the person living with hypermobility, and their family.
Accept
- To encourage acceptance of symptoms, variation in presentation and the significant day to day impacts of hypermobility conditions, by medical and health professionals.
- To help people living with hypermobility-related conditions accept their reality and learn to live a happy, hopeful and healthy life with their condition
- To help the wider community accept the reality of hypermobility, it’s ability to devastate an individuals quality of life, including the ability to work full-time, if able to work at all.
Connect
- To connect people living with hypermobility to each other, for mutual support and appropriate peer education.
- To connect people living with hypermobility to medical & health professionals who can assist them with diagnosis, treatment & management of their condition
- To connect medical & health professionals to each other, for networking and professional support opportunities.
WHY HYPERMOBILITY CONNECT?
Having practised as an occupational therapist with a special interest in working with people with hypermobility, I was given unique insight into the challenges faced by people of all ages, stages & locations in Australia. Whilst I cherished my time practising as an OT, there came a point where I had to step back and see the bigger picture.
As one person, I was only able to help a finite number of people on their journey with hypermobility and realised that this wasn’t enough for me – or for you. The idea of Hypermobility Connect has been brewing for years and has now been a couple of years in the making. It’s a true work of the heart because as a fellow bendy-body who wasn’t formally diagnosed until I was 23, I remember so vividly the journey that was… and I look forward with hope at the continuing journey ahead.
Welcome home to Hypermobility Connect.