MANAGING HYPERMOBILITY
Managing Pain & Flares
Understanding why pain and symptoms fluctuate, exploring ways to navigate flares, and finding strategies that support your comfort and recovery.
PAIN IS COMPLEX
Pain is more than a warning sign.
Pain is one of the most common and challenging experiences for people living with symptomatic hypermobility. But understanding why it happens isn't always straightforward.
Pain is a protective experience produced by the nervous system in response to information from your body, your environment and your past experiences. While it can alert you to injury or potential danger, pain doesn't necessarily mean that tissue damage is occurring.
In persistent pain, the nervous system can become more sensitive and protective. This means pain may continue even after tissues have healed, or occur without an identifiable injury. The intensity of pain doesn't always reflect the extent of tissue damage, or whether damage is occurring at all.
For people with symptomatic hypermobility, pain can have several contributing factors. These might include joint instability, tissue irritation, increased muscular effort, repeated strain or increased sensitivity within the nervous system. And importantly, pain isn't always explained by one structure, diagnosis or underlying cause.
Understanding what might be contributing to your pain can help you explore management strategies that address more than just where it hurts.
Your experience is valid, even when there isn't a clear injury or structural explanation. You deserve to be heard, believed and supported.
UNDERSTANDING FLARES
Why do symptoms flare?
Living with symptomatic hypermobility often means fluctuating pain & symptoms. You might have periods where symptoms feel relatively manageable, followed by days when everything feels more difficult, sometimes without any obvious explanation.
For many people, persistent pain is already part of everyday life. You don't need to be experiencing a flare to have significant pain, fatigue or other symptoms. Over time, people may become accustomed to living with a level of pain that others might find difficult to imagine.
A flare is an increase in symptoms beyond your usual baseline. It might involve more pain, greater fatigue, increased muscle tension, reduced tolerance for activity or a combination of symptoms. Flares can last hours, days or sometimes longer, and they don't necessarily look or feel the same each time.
Sometimes flares are associated with identifiable factors, such as changes in physical activity, sustained positions, disrupted sleep, illness, stress, hormonal fluctuations or an accumulation of demands over time. But more often than not, flares don't follow a predictable pattern. They can happen without any obvious trigger, even when you've been pacing, resting and doing everything that usually helps. Not every flare can be explained, anticipated or prevented.
Importantly, an increase in pain doesn't automatically mean you've injured yourself or caused further damage. Symptoms may intensify due to changes in tissue sensitivity, nervous system processing, physical demands or other physiological factors. However, new injuries and medical conditions can also cause worsening symptoms and may need further assessment.
Learning to recognise your own patterns can sometimes help you anticipate changes and adapt your management. But recognising patterns isn't the same as having complete control over your symptoms.
NAVIGATING A FLARE
What can help when symptoms escalate?
When pain or other symptoms increase, it can be difficult to know what your body needs. Strategies that usually help might feel less effective, your tolerance for activity may change, and even everyday tasks can become more demanding.
There isn't one correct way to manage a flare. What helps will depend on your symptoms, their underlying contributors, your circumstances and the capacity you have available.
Rather than trying to push through or immediately fix everything, it can help to consider what might make things a little more manageable.
Supporting yourself through a flare
-
![Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@cdc?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">CDC</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-woman-in-a-wheel-chair-opening-a-cabinet-ehOJSy36Rfg?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=refe]()
Adjust your demands
During a flare, you might not have the capacity to do everything you normally would. Temporarily changing your plans, simplifying tasks or letting things wait can help reduce the demands on your body.
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE:
Send that cancellation text. It's okay to reschedule.
Say no to plans, or postpone that lunch date.
Heat up a frozen meal instead of cooking from scratch.
Order groceries online instead of walking around the supermarket.
Sit down to shower, prepare food or get dressed.
Leave the washing, cleaning or non-urgent errands for another day.
Ask someone else to take care of a task you would usually do yourself.
You don't have to earn rest by pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion.
-
![Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@sunday2sunday?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">SUNDAY II SUNDAY</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-woman-squatting-on-the-floor-in-a-gym-snM3yEpvklU?utm_source=unsp]()
Comfort & Pain Relief
Comfort doesn't always mean eliminating pain. Sometimes it's about finding small ways to make your body feel a little more supported or your symptoms a little easier to live with.
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE:
Use that heat pack, stick-on heat patches or cold packs if these usually help.
Use pillows or cushions to support uncomfortable joints or find a more comfortable position.
Change into loose, soft, comfortable clothing.
Try a familiar relaxation technique, gentle self-massage or another comfort strategy that works for you.
Set yourself up somewhere comfortable with water, snacks and anything you might need within reach.
You don't need to make the pain disappear for a comfort strategy to be worthwhile.
-
![Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@galibagi?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">GALINA BOGDANOVA</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-performing-a-barbell-lunge-exercise-in-a-gym-DVstISE8p8w?utm_sourc]()
Balance Movement & Rest
During a flare, your tolerance for movement and activity may change. Some days, gentle movement feels helpful. Other days, more substantial rest is what your body needs. Neither is a failure.
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE:
Change positions regularly if staying in one position makes you uncomfortable.
Take a short, gentle walk around the house if movement feels helpful.
Break up activities with rest rather than waiting until you're completely exhausted.
Lie down or recline between tasks if that helps you recover.
Swap your usual exercise for a gentler option, or skip it altogether for now.
Rest and movement don't have to be all-or-nothing. What feels manageable today might be different tomorrow.
-
![Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@jballantyne?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jesse Ballantyne</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-doing-yoga-W5zTPoCVai0?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&]()
Reducing demands
Physical activity isn't the only thing that draws on your capacity. Noise, light, concentration, decision-making, emotions and social expectations can all feel harder to manage when symptoms are elevated.
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE:
Put your phone on Do Not Disturb and reply to messages when you have the capacity.
Dim the lights, close the curtains, wear sunglasses or use headphones if sensory input feels overwhelming.
Postpone a difficult conversation or a decision that doesn't need to happen today.
Give yourself permission to leave a social event early, or not attend at all.
Choose a familiar meal, outfit or routine to reduce unnecessary decisions.
Swap a demanding task for something easier, or take a break from screens and information overload.
Sometimes reducing the demands around your symptoms can make them a little easier to manage.
-
![Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@joelvalve?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">JoelValve</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-doing-split-while-standing-on-one-leg-eWAK-rslNn0?utm_source=unsplash&ut]()
Reach for support
You don't have to manage every flare on your own. Support can be practical, emotional or clinical, and asking for help doesn't mean you've failed to manage your symptoms.
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE:
Ask someone to pick up groceries, medication or something you need from the shops.
Let a friend or family member know you're having a difficult symptom day.
Ask someone to help with dinner, household tasks or caring responsibilities.
Send a simple message: “I'm having a rough flare today. Could you check in on me later?”
Tell someone what would actually help, whether that's practical assistance, company or some quiet time.
Contact your healthcare team if symptoms are new, unusually severe, concerning or aren't settling as expected.
You deserve support before things become completely unmanageable.
One thing I genuinely couldn't live without is my little flare caddy. It lives on my bedside table, stocked with safe snacks, pain-relief options like my stick-on heat patches, my braces, scalp massager and eye mask.
On the days when my symptoms flare and getting around is difficult, having everything within arm's reach means one less thing to think about, and one less reason to get up when my body needs rest.
It doesn't make the flare disappear, but it makes those difficult days a little easier to navigate.
— Bec, Osteopath & fellow hypermobile human
What would you keep in yours?
FINDING YOUR FEET AGAIN
When the flare begins to settle
After flares where you’ve had to slow down, it can be temping to jump back into the never ending to do lists when you’re feeling better. But feeling better doesn't always mean your usual capacity has fully returned.
Trying to catch up on everything at once can sometimes contribute to another increase in symptoms, creating a repeating pattern of overdoing it, flaring and needing to recover. This is often called the boom–bust cycle.
Rather than trying to make up for lost time, consider gradually reintroducing activities, spreading demanding tasks across several days and allowing some flexibility as you find your rhythm again.
KNOWING WHEN TO REACH OUT
When to seek additional support
Living with persistent pain or fluctuating symptoms can make it difficult to know when something needs further attention. When you're accustomed to managing discomfort, it can be easy to dismiss new symptoms or assume they're simply another flare.
But having hypermobility doesn't mean every symptom is caused by it, and you shouldn't have to manage everything on your own.
You don't need to wait until your symptoms become unbearable to ask for help.
When to check in with your healthcare team:
Your symptoms are new, significantly different or worsening.
A flare is lasting longer than usual or isn't responding to familiar strategies.
You experience new weakness, numbness or changes in movement.
Your symptoms are increasingly affecting sleep, daily activities or quality of life.
You're struggling to manage or would benefit from additional support.
When to seek urgent medical attention:
Some symptoms need urgent assessment, including sudden or severe neurological changes, chest pain, significant breathing difficulties or new loss of bladder or bowel control.
Managing pain isn't about getting everything right, preventing every flare or pushing yourself to function as though nothing has changed. It's about finding approaches that support you, your body and the life you want to live.