• Strunk RG

• Chronic Pain
• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome / therapy
• Female
• Headache
• Joint Instability
• Low Back Pain
• Neck Pain
• Open Access Document
• Young Adult

Objective: The purpose of this article is to describe the clinical response to multimodal chiropractic treatment of a patient diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobility type (EDS-HT), and chronic pain.

Clinical Features: A 22-year-old woman presented with severe chronic neck and low back pain, headaches, and bilateral hand pain and stiffness. In addition to these pain complaints, the patient had a family history of EDS, weekly or daily recurring joint dislocations, and upper and lower extremity joint hypermobility. As a result of her significant history and examination findings, which met the Brighton and Villefranche criteria, she was diagnosed with EDS-HT.

Interventions and Outcomes: Treatment primarily consisted of low force joint manipulative therapy and soft tissue therapy intermittently over 21 months concurrently with conventional and complementary medical care. Multiple outcome questionnaires were administered pragmatically at follow-up intervals of 3, 5½, 8½, 19, and 21 months, including but not limited to the Headache and Neck Disability Indices and the Oswestry Low Back Questionnaire. The patient had clinically meaningful improvements on the Neck Disability Index, the Headache Disability Index, and the Revised Oswestry after 3, 5½, 8½, and 21 months from baseline.

Conclusion: This patient with EDS-HT had clinically meaningful decreases in disability, headache, and spine pain after a course of multimodal chiropractic care combined with conventional and complementary medical care.

Author keywords: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; Manipulation; Chiropractic; Low Back Pain; Neck Pain; Headaches

Author affiliation: Private Practice (United States / Connecticut / Wallingford)

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