HYPERMOBILITY & EDS PHYSIOTHERAPY · SHELLHARBOUR
Physiotherapy for hypermobile bodies, from people who actually get it.
Joints that slip, sublux or ache. Fatigue that does not match what you did. Pain that moves around. Being told you are just flexible, or that it is anxiety. If any of that lands, you are in the right place. Our founder lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
- Our founder lives with EDS
- No diagnosis needed to book
- We work with your other clinicians, not around them
The test is not a diagnosis. It is a starting point, and something concrete to bring to your first appointment.
Ask us anything first
Tell us what is going on. You do not need the right words for it, and you do not need a diagnosis.
We usually reply the same business day.
SOUND FAMILIAR
If you have spent years being told nothing is wrong...
Most people we see have been round this loop for a long time. Different practitioners, different explanations, scans that came back normal, and somewhere along the way the suggestion that it might be stress or anxiety. That is an exhausting place to be, and it is not where this has to end.
Your joints slip, sublux or fully dislocate
The pain moves around and never quite settles
You are tired in a way that rest does not fix
You bruise easily, or heal slowly, or both
Standing up makes you dizzy or your heart race
You have been told to stretch, and it made things worse
People with hypermobility spectrum disorders wait a median of ten years for a diagnosis. Not because the condition is rare, but because it is rarely looked for. Waiting a long time is not the same as making it up.
You do not need a diagnosis to come in. Plenty of the people we see never get a formal one, and they still get better management.
WHY IT GETS MISSED
Why hypermobility is so often missed.
Because it does not look like an injury. Hypermobility affects connective tissue, and connective tissue is everywhere, so the symptoms turn up in different body parts at different times and rarely show on a scan.
It is a whole-body condition seen one joint at a time.A shoulder appointment, then a knee appointment, then a headache appointment. Each one treated on its own, none of them joined up.
Normal scans get read as nothing wrong.Imaging shows structure, not control. A hypermobile joint can move well past where it is stable and still look perfectly normal on a scan.
Being flexible is treated as an advantage.Plenty of hypermobile people are told they are lucky, or pushed further into range in dance, gymnastics or yoga. Range was never the problem. Control is.
The usual advice can make it worse.More stretching into an already excessive range often increases symptoms. This is the single most common thing we undo.
What tends to help is close to the opposite of the usual advice. Build strength and control through the range you already have, load it gradually, pace the day so a good one does not cost you three, and treat the whole pattern rather than whichever joint hurts most this week. That is what we do here.
Worth a conversation?
A STARTING POINT
Not sure where you sit? Start with the free test.
It takes a few minutes, it is free, and it asks about more than your joints. Connective tissue affects joints, gut, circulation, energy and sleep, so the test reports which of eight areas are affecting you most.
It looks at the whole pictureMost assessments stop at how far a joint bends. This one does not.
You get a result you can keepA clear summary of where your symptoms cluster, on screen at the end.
Bring it with youIt gives your first appointment a running start, instead of you having to tell the whole story from scratch.
It is not a diagnosis. It is a starting point, and something concrete to bring to your first appointment.
YOUR FIRST APPOINTMENT
Your first appointment, and why it is longer than most.
It is an hour, one to one, and most of it is spent on the whole picture rather than the one joint that hurts today.
We take the full history, properly.All of it. The joints, the fatigue, the gut, the dizziness, the sleep, what you have already tried and who has already told you what. Bring your test result if you did it.
We assess how you move, not just how far.Range, control, strength and how your joints behave under load. We use the Beighton score where it is useful, and we do not stop there, because it was never designed to describe how you feel.
We measure the things that usually go unmeasured.We use the SPIDER outcome measure, which covers pain, fatigue, sleep, activity and psychological wellbeing across eight domains, so progress is tracked in more than one dimension.
You get an explanation that fits everything.One explanation that accounts for the whole pattern, in plain language. For a lot of people this is the first time anyone has joined it up.
You leave with a plan built for a hypermobile body.Strength and control before stretch, graded loading, pacing, and a realistic idea of the timeframe.
A few things worth knowing
- You do not need a diagnosis, and you do not need a referral.
- We do not diagnose Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. If you need that pathway, we will tell you and help you get to the right person.
- Bring the list. Nobody here thinks you are exaggerating.
YOUR PHYSIOTHERAPIST
Meet April, who has been on both sides of this.
Hypermobility and EDS physiotherapy at RX Active Health is led by Dr April Patterson, the founder of the practice, who holds a Doctor of Physiotherapy from Bond University.
April Patterson
Physiotherapist · Founder
April lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, hypermobility and TMJ dysfunction. She has had the appointments where nothing showed up on the scan, and the advice that made things worse. She built this practice around the care she wished she had been given, which is why hypermobility is the reason RX exists rather than one service among many.
Laura Flemming also has a strong interest in hypermobility and EDS and has extensive NDIS experience.
Emily Yorkston is a senior physiotherapist with lived experience of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and a strong clinical interest in hypermobility and EDS, so there is more than one person here who knows this world.
THE RX PODCAST
Hours of it, free, before you book anything.
April has recorded more on hypermobility than almost anyone locally. If you want to know how we think before you commit to an appointment, start with these.
What is hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?
The foundations, in plain language.
How to manage pain in hypermobility.
Why the usual pain advice often does not fit, and what tends to work instead.
Neck pain and hypermobility: why you are not fragile.
April and Laura on the neck, and on why movement is not the enemy.
WHAT WE TREAT
What hypermobility physiotherapy can help with.
Hypermobility physiotherapy is the assessment and management of joints that move beyond a normal range, and of the pain, instability and fatigue that often come with hypermobility spectrum disorder and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
Joint instability, subluxation and dislocation
Shoulders, knees, hips, fingers, jaw. We work on the control and strength that keep a joint centred through range.
Widespread and moving pain
Pain that shifts around and does not behave like a single injury, approached as a whole-body pattern.
Fatigue and poor recovery
Pacing, load management and graded strength work built for a body that does not recover on a standard timeline.
Neck pain and headaches
Very common in hypermobility, and very treatable. Often connected to the jaw as well.
Jaw and TMJ instability
A hypermobile jaw that clicks, slips or dislocates. See the jaw page →
Returning to exercise safely
Strength training, running or sport, loaded in a way that suits hypermobile joints rather than fighting them.
Pregnancy and postnatal changes
Hormonal changes affect connective tissue, and hypermobile bodies often feel it more. See women's health →
Children and teenagers
Growing hypermobile bodies, growing pains that are not always growing pains, and sport.
Working alongside your other clinicians
POTS, gut symptoms and mast cell issues sit outside physiotherapy. We recognise them, and we work with the people who manage them.
PROGRESS
What getting better actually feels like.
Nobody here is going to tell you hypermobility goes away. What changes is how much of your life it takes up.
Fewer bad days, and shorter ones
A flare that used to take a week starts taking a day or two, and you know what to do when it arrives.
Trusting a joint again
Reaching, lifting, carrying or rolling over without the reflex of waiting for something to give.
Doing the thing without paying for it later
A walk, a gym session, a day out, without losing the next two days to it.
Being believed
An explanation that fits all of it, and a plan that treats you as one person rather than a series of separate joints.
How much changes and how fast is different for everyone. Your physiotherapist will be honest about that at the first appointment.
Start with a conversation.
You are not fragile, and you are not imagining it.
Most people we see waited years before anyone joined it up. Whenever you are ready is the right time.
COST AND CLAIMING
What it costs, and how to claim it back.
You can book directly without a GP referral. Most private health extras cover physiotherapy, and you can claim on the spot.
| Route | What you need | Claiming |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing, just book | Private health extras, claimed on the spot with HICAPS | |
| Medicare | A GP Chronic Disease Management plan | Medicare rebate applies to eligible sessions |
| NDIS | Plan-managed or self-managed | We can invoice directly |
| WorkCover | A referral | Bulk billed to the relevant scheme |
Hypermobility and EDS are commonly funded under NDIS plans, and we have extensive experience invoicing plan-managed and self-managed participants.
First appointment is one hour. Follow-ups are usually 30 to 40 minutes, and how often depends on you, not on a package. We do not sell blocks of sessions.
We take Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Afterpay, and HICAPS claiming happens on the spot.
Three ways to start, pick whichever feels easiest.
Take the free test
A few minutes, no appointment, no talking to anyone. You get a summary of where your symptoms cluster.
Not a diagnosis, just a starting point.
Free 10 minute call
Already tried a splint, or been told to live with it? Talk to a physiotherapist before you book anything.
FAQS
Questions people ask before their first appointment.
Do I need a diagnosis to see a physiotherapist about hypermobility?
No. Many of the people we see have never had a formal diagnosis, and some never will. We assess and treat what is actually happening in your body, which does not depend on having a label first.
Do you diagnose Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?
No. A hypermobile EDS diagnosis is a clinical one made against the 2017 international criteria, and the rarer genetic types need genetic testing. We can assess you, treat you, and help you get to the right person for a diagnosis if that is what you want.
Should I be stretching if I am hypermobile?
Usually less than you think. Most hypermobile people already have plenty of range and not enough control, so more stretching can increase symptoms. Strength and control work through the range you have is generally the better starting point, though your physiotherapist will tell you what applies to you.
Is the free hypermobility test a diagnosis?
No. It is a self-assessment that shows which of eight areas your symptoms cluster in. It is a useful starting point and a useful thing to bring to a first appointment, and it is not a diagnosis.
What is the Beighton score, and is that all you use?
The Beighton score is a nine-point check of how far certain joints move. It is a useful screening tool and it is not a measure of how you feel, so we use it as one part of a much broader assessment.
Can physiotherapy help fatigue?
It can help you manage it. Pacing, graded activity and load management are the parts of fatigue that physiotherapy can genuinely influence, alongside whoever is managing the medical side.
Do you treat children and teenagers with hypermobility?
Yes. Growing hypermobile bodies have their own considerations, particularly around sport, growth spurts and pain that gets written off as growing pains.
I have POTS and gut symptoms as well. Can you help with those?
Those sit outside physiotherapy, so we do not manage them ourselves. We do recognise them, we take them into account when we build your plan, and we work alongside the clinicians who do manage them.
Can I use my NDIS plan?
Yes, if you are plan-managed or self-managed we can invoice directly. We have extensive NDIS experience.
Where are you?
Unit 1/35 Shellharbour Road, Lake Illawarra NSW 2528, with parking on site.
You have explained yourself enough times.
Take the free test, book an assessment, or just send us a question. Any of the three is a perfectly good place to start.