Physical Therapy for Hypermobility Conditions & Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
Learn to work with your body, not against it, so you can reclaim your life and feel confident in your body like never before
Physical Therapy for Hypermobility Conditions & Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
Learn to work with your body, not against it, so you can reclaim your life and feel confident in your body like never before
We know how exhausting it can be to find the right team—especially when you have to explain your condition over and over again to practitioners. But you don’t have to do this alone. Dr. Jill is here to help. You can learn more about her and the team here.
Meet Dr. Jill Stephenson
Treating individuals with hypermobility is a passion for Dr. Jill, who believes everyone has the ability to move well and safely in their own bodies. She strives for a collaborative approach with each patient with the ultimate goal of independent self-management and a focus on functional exercise and movement patterns.
Utilizing her intuitive manual skills and orthopedic background, alongside her pelvic floor training, Dr. Jill is highly skilled at unwinding layers of dysfunction to get to the root of the issue.
*Dr. Jill will be starting with ResilientRx on May 27, 2025*
What is it and how can physical therapy help?
With a greater range of motion to manage, joints can end up relying on bone closure or hyperextension for stability, or waiting for the nerve itself to stretch before tendons can react and protect these sensitive tissues. Hypermobile individuals often report “muscular tightness” despite appearing flexible, due to neural tension and perceived flexibility limitations.
Hypermobility can affect any joint in the body but frequently creates issues in the cervical spine, shoulder complex, and knee joints. Limited proprioceptive awareness of joints in space is a frequent cause of injury in people with hypermobility. This altered perception can lead to frequent injuries due to lack of attention, quick directional changes, or poor balance protection responses.
Ligamentous laxity can lead to subluxations and dislocations, or a nagging sensation of instability. Joints that don’t feel safe can benefit from techniques to improve proprioception, including stabilization exercises, external feedback techniques like kinesiotaping, and motor control programming. Learning how to manage joints that experience instability and activate musculature appropriately before activity is essential to staying active and enjoying being active.
Diagnoses That Dr. Jill Treats…
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
What Is It?
POTS is a condition where the heart beats abnormally fast in an attempt to regulate blood pressure drops that occur when an individual moves from lying down to sitting up, or from sitting to standing. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for managing these blood pressure changes, but with this syndrome, the connective tissue in the blood vessels may struggle to constrict properly. This makes it difficult to regulate blood volume and can lead to symptoms like lightheadedness, fainting, heat intolerance, or fatigue.
“Coat hanger pain” is a symptom often associated with hypermobility and can be linked to orthostatic hypotension disorders like POTS. This type of pain feels sharp or cramping in the neck and shoulders, and it stems from reduced blood return during prolonged sitting or standing. It can be aggravated by suboptimal exercise prescription.
Many people complain that:
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Swelling or changes in skin color in the legs after prolonged sitting or standing
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Lightheadedness with quick position changes
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Limited tolerance to exercise, especially high-intensity interval training or overhead work
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Symptoms often relieved by lying down, crossing the legs, or changing positions
Hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum
Disorders (HSD)
What is it?
Hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is a genetic disorder that affects connective tissue and can lead to joint hypermobility, chronic joint pain, and possible recurrent dislocations. Individuals with hEDS typically exhibit hyperextension of multiple joints, extra stretchy skin, and chronic joint pain.
Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) encompass individuals who do not meet the diagnostic criteria (including genetic testing) for hEDS but have many of the same symptoms, such as joint instability, chronic fatigue, and pain. Both hEDS and HSD can lead to symptomatic issues, including joint laxity and impaired spatial awareness (impaired proprioception).
Many people complain about:
- Constant feeling of joint tightness or needing to pop for relief
- Getting injured seemingly randomly versus during planned physical activity
- Difficulty learning new movement skills or “poor body awareness”
Pelvic Health and Postpartum Specific Dysfunctions
What Is It?
Hypermobility and limited body awareness frequently result in pelvic floor gripping for stability and difficulty actively relaxing the pelvic bowl. Chronic pelvic floor tightness contributes to stress incontinence, urge issues, and even limited bladder awareness. Additionally, heightened pelvic floor tone can limit pleasure during sex and contribute to pudendal nerve compression, which can mimic UTI-like symptoms. Learning how to manage these symptoms is key to lifelong management of pelvic dysfunction, especially in this population.
While some symptoms of pelvic floor tightness improve with pregnancy due to increased hormones like relaxin, low back or mid-back pain may increase due to extreme postural demands and pelvic instability. Connective tissue healing postpartum takes 6 to 9 months, and individuals with hypermobility can experience longer healing times. They may also be more prone to pelvic floor laxity. Physical therapy for hypermobility conditions can help.
Many people complain that they:
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Heaviness or dullness in the pelvic floor after workouts or prolonged time on your feet
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Burning around the bladder and urethra after stressful days or post-intercourse
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Sudden urge to pee despite no prior warning, which may lead to leaking
Pelvic Health and Postpartum Specific Dysfunctions
Prolapse
Prolapse
What Is It?
This is when the pelvic organs start to “fall down” into the vagina. The image shows the different types of pelvic organ prolapse.
Many people complain that they:
- Feel heaviness in the bladder, back or around the vaginal opening or anus
- Feel like they are wearing a tampon
- Notice bulging around the vagina or anus
- Experience double voiding, aka peeing a few minutes after you already have