Nijs, Jo, Aerts, Annemie, De Meirleir, Kenny · Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics · 2006 · DOI
This study found that people with ME/CFS are about 5 times more likely than healthy people to have loose, overly flexible joints (joint hypermobility). Researchers tested 68 ME/CFS patients and 69 healthy volunteers using physical exams and knee movement tests. Most ME/CFS patients in the study had joint hypermobility, but surprisingly, this looseness did not seem to be connected to how much pain they experienced.
This study reveals that joint hypermobility may be a distinct musculoskeletal feature affecting a substantial subgroup of ME/CFS patients, potentially contributing to disability and symptoms. Understanding this association could help clinicians better characterize ME/CFS heterogeneity and tailor physical interventions appropriately, and it raises questions about whether connective tissue abnormalities play a role in disease pathophysiology.
This study does not prove that joint hypermobility causes ME/CFS or that it is responsible for the fatigue or cognitive symptoms central to the condition. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or directionality. Additionally, the lack of association between hypermobility and pain severity does not rule out hypermobility contributing to other CFS-related symptoms or functional limitations.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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