Student with EDS, cervical fusion and many other problems

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Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Student with EDS, cervical fusion and many other problems

Post by Bernie »

I recently received the following question:
  • A new student said she had a cervical fusion and lower back plate and I advised it's ok to come to class but we will modify postures to suit. When I asked for a more detailed history she replied.....with the following: "I have a rare condition called ehlers danlos syndrome it affects the collagen in my skin & therefore affects every organ & muscle & bone & I have an array of co-morbidities that go with it, Chiari malformation, CCI, AAI , tethered core syndrome (I had all that operated on) postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, lots of GI & gynae issues, 3 types of migraines, macular degeneration. I actually had a car accident as well which made things a lot worse!,

    So, my concern: As this syndrome makes the CT loose I doubt she will be able to attend. What are your thoughts?
    Thanks, Sharon

Hi Sharon

Wow, this woman has lots of health challenges, to be sure. I don't think that there is any way you can know what will or won't work for her. Even her own doctors are unlikely to know for sure, so how could you be expected to figure it all out. Unfortunately, life goes on and regardless of our ignorance about all her conditions, she can't stop living. She still needs to move, stretch, and basically, just live! If she wants to try Yin Yoga, I would not automatically refuse her or try to dissuade her. I would be realistic, though. We don't know if it can help, but maybe you can help her figure it out for herself.

There has been some discussions on Ehler Danlos Syndrome (EDS) before: this article on Hypermobility and Yoga and this discussion in response. These may be worth reading before your student arrives, but let me share with another viewpoint. This is from Greg Lehman, a rather well known physical therapist in Toronto. In Greg's view, tensile stresses on connective tissues will not and cannot lengthen them. All these stresses can do is strengthen them. The body is designed to adapt to stress. Muscles get stronger when we stress them. Likewise our ligaments, tendons, joints, fascia also get stronger and thicker after being stressed. The only challenge is to find the Goldilocks' position: too little or no stress is distinctly unhealthy. Too much is not good either.

For your student, her challenge will be to find the right amount of stress, for her today. Doing nothing will make her worse, so do encourage her to do yoga. Too much is not good, so also encourage her to pay attention. She may have to learn how to differentiate the sensations that arise. What does too much feel like? Is is painful? Is it uncomfortable? Does it simply feel risky? What is it like after the posture ends or even the next day? Keep the practice simple to start: no going to full end range of motion for now, and shorter holds (1~2 minutes). Have her learn what the sensations feel like and what they mean. Over time, if appropriate, hold longer, then deeper, but keep checking in. How is any of this affecting her functional movements in daily living?

Let us know how it goes!
Cheers
Bernie
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