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Hypermobility MD Expert diagnosis & treatment Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes. Bendy Bodies podcast host. đźš« medical advice. and others at increased risk of hypermobility disorders.

Dr. Linda Bluestein has been practicing medicine for over 20 years and has helped countless people restore function and improve their quality of life. As a former ballet dancer and instructor, she has a special interest in treating flexibility athletes (dancers, gymnasts, acrobatic artists, etc.) As an integrative medicine physician with certification in Performing Arts Medicine, Dr. Bluestein takes a unique approach to the evaluation and treatment of this highly specialized population. Working with Dr. Bluestein enables you to have less pain and be more accurately diagnosed. Dr. Bluestein is an international speaker on the forefront of research on pain, hypermobility and dance medicine. Professional services include individual telemedicine visits as well as workshops and lectures for groups. Dr. Bluestein received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine followed by the completion of an anesthesiology residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. She is board-certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology.

10/16/2026

What if changing the way your nervous system responds could also change what happens elsewhere in your body?

On this episode of Bendy Bodies, Cathleen King, DPT, founder of Primal Trust, joins Dr. Linda Bluestein to explore the science and nuance behind the idea of “self-healing.”

This is not about thinking positively, ignoring symptoms, or suggesting that illness is “all in your head.” Instead, Cathleen discusses how thoughts, movement, and nervous system practices may influence physiological processes such as stress responses, immune activity, and inflammatory signaling.

For people living with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), POTS, MCAS, and other complex chronic conditions, that distinction matters. Nervous system regulation may be one useful piece of a much larger puzzle. It does not replace medical care, eliminate structural or biological contributors, or imply that someone is responsible for being ill.

The bigger question is fascinating: How much influence do we have over our own biology?

How has your understanding of the mind-body connection changed over time?



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

VD: Cathleen King, DPT, discusses her definition of self-healing and how thoughts, neurological practices, and movement may influence biological processes, including immune function and inflammatory signaling.

What if the goal of nervous system regulation isn’t to eliminate your symptoms, but to change how much they control your...
10/15/2026

What if the goal of nervous system regulation isn’t to eliminate your symptoms, but to change how much they control your life?

For people living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS), POTS, MCAS, chronic pain, and other complex chronic conditions, symptoms are REAL. And nervous system regulation is not about pretending otherwise.

But what if there’s another way to approach symptoms that feel overwhelming, unpredictable, or impossible to tolerate?

On this episode of Bendy Bodies, Dr. Linda Bluestein talks with Cathleen King, DPT, founder of Primal Trust, about the potential benefits and limitations of brain retraining and nervous system regulation.

Dr. King offers a powerful shift in perspective:

💜 “Sometimes it’s not taking away the thing, but it’s building your capacity to be with it.”

This isn't about thinking your way out of a medical condition. It's about exploring whether you can expand your capacity to navigate symptoms, stress, and sensory input without becoming as overwhelmed by them.

Because progress doesn't always mean fewer symptoms. Sometimes it means those symptoms have less power over your life.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation on Bendy Bodies to explore what nervous system work can, and cannot, do for people living with complex chronic illness.

đź’¬ Have you experienced a change in how you respond to symptoms, even when the symptoms themselves haven't changed? We'd love to hear your experience.



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

ID: Purple pull quote carousel featuring highlights from Dr. Linda Bluestein’s conversation with Cathleen King, DPT, about brain retraining, nervous system regulation, chronic illness, trauma, symptom sensitization, and building capacity.

What if your brain could learn to respond differently to a flare?Not because your symptoms aren’t real. Not because EDS...
10/14/2026

What if your brain could learn to respond differently to a flare?

Not because your symptoms aren’t real.
Not because EDS is “all in your head.”
And not because brain retraining can cure a connective tissue disorder.

On this episode of Bendy Bodies, Ina Stephens, MD, explores something much more interesting: neuroplasticity and the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt, reorganize, and create new neural pathways.

If the nervous system can learn patterns of threat and heightened reactivity, can it also learn new ways of responding?

That’s where neuroplasticity and brain retraining become especially interesting for people living with EDS, hypermobility, dysautonomia, and complex chronic illness.

These approaches cannot change your connective tissue or cure an underlying condition. But they may offer another tool for working with the nervous system and potentially changing how the brain and body respond to symptoms, triggers, and flares.

Your symptoms can be real AND your nervous system can be capable of change.

Have you explored neuroplasticity or brain retraining as part of your care?



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

ID: Podcast screenshots featuring Ina Stephens, MD, and Dr. Linda Bluestein discussing neuroplasticity, how the brain can adapt and create new neural pathways, the difference between adaptation and a cure, and the potential role of brain retraining and nervous system regulation for people with EDS and hypermobility.

Your incision healed weeks ago. So why is something that looks like a tiny piece of fishing line suddenly poking through...
10/13/2026

Your incision healed weeks ago. So why is something that looks like a tiny piece of fishing line suddenly poking through your skin?

It might be a spitting suture.

I’ve experienced this myself, and I know how confusing it can be, especially when you've previously been told your body is “rejecting stitches” or that you're “allergic to dissolvable sutures.”

But here's what many people don't realize: A spitting suture doesn't necessarily mean you're allergic to the material.

A buried suture working its way to the surface is different from a true allergic reaction, infection, contact dermatitis, or impaired wound healing. And knowing the difference can be especially important for people with EDS, HSD, or MCAS.

One important takeaway? Find out exactly which suture material was used. Not all dissolvable sutures are the same, and that information could be valuable when planning future procedures.

This is one of my most popular Bendy Bulletins, and I'm revisiting some of the key takeaways!

For the full article and more evidence-informed insights into EDS, hypermobility, MCAS, and related conditions, subscribe at hypermobilitymd.substack.com.

💬 Have you ever had a suture unexpectedly emerge weeks or even months after surgery? Were you told you were “rejecting” your stitches?

10/12/2026

Could your diet be missing something important without you realizing it?

When Ina Stephens, MD, asks patients what they eat, she wants specifics. Not just whether they’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, or following another restrictive diet, but what actually ends up on their plates.

Why? Because the details can reveal important clues about nutritional deficiencies, including inadequate iron or vitamin C intake.

For people with EDS, hypermobility, and other complex chronic conditions, identifying nutritional gaps can be an important part of understanding symptoms and optimizing health.

Sometimes, a simple conversation about breakfast, lunch, and dinner can reveal more than you might expect.

đź’¬ Has your healthcare provider ever asked you to describe exactly what you eat in a typical day?



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

VD: Ina Stephens, MD, explains how she takes a detailed diet history, including specific foods eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to look for patterns that may suggest nutritional gaps such as low iron or vitamin C.

Are hEDS and hypermobility actually becoming MORE common?Or are we finally recognizing people who have been there all al...
10/08/2026

Are hEDS and hypermobility actually becoming MORE common?

Or are we finally recognizing people who have been there all along?

And if recognition isn’t the whole story, could infections, environmental exposures, autoimmunity, or other triggers be playing a role?

In this episode of Bendy Bodies, I’m joined again by Ina Stephens, MD, Associate Director of the UVA Health EDS and Hypermobility Disorders Center, to tackle questions that don’t always have simple answers.

We explore why hEDS and related conditions seem to be everywhere right now, what might trigger symptoms in someone who is genetically predisposed, and how the immune and autonomic nervous systems may intersect.

But we don’t stop there.

What role might neuroplasticity play in symptoms? Can nervous system regulation actually change how we feel? And could something as simple as breathing influence more than we realize?

This conversation connects the dots between EDS, dysautonomia, autoimmunity, the nervous system, and the growing science of the brain-body connection.

Which part surprised you most?



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

ID: Teal pull quote carousel featuring key moments from Dr. Linda Bluestein’s Bendy Bodies conversation with Ina Stephens, MD, about EDS recognition, possible triggers, autonomic dysfunction, neuroplasticity, nervous system regulation, breathwork, and approaches to supporting the body.

What do you do when your child feels terrible, but neither of you knows where to start?On this episode of Bendy Bodies, ...
10/07/2026

What do you do when your child feels terrible, but neither of you knows where to start?

On this episode of Bendy Bodies, Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD, shares a practical strategy she uses to help children with EDS and hypermobility better understand what their bodies may need during a flare.

Instead of expecting a child to figure it out when they’re already in pain, dizzy, exhausted, or overwhelmed, she recommends creating a simple decision tree ahead of time.

Putting those steps on paper can reduce some of the executive function required when a child is already struggling.

Having a plan on the fridge, bathroom mirror, or somewhere easy to find means the plan is there when you need it.

Do you have a flare plan written down?



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

ID: Podcast screenshots featuring Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD, and Dr. Linda Bluestein discussing how children with EDS and hypermobility can use a simple decision tree or written flare plan to check basic needs, identify manageable next steps, and reduce the mental effort required to make decisions when symptoms are worse.

What if the symptom you’ve been blaming on hEDS isn’t actually from hEDS?When you live with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos sy...
10/06/2026

What if the symptom you’ve been blaming on hEDS isn’t actually from hEDS?

When you live with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, it’s easy for joint pain, back pain, stiffness, and other musculoskeletal symptoms to get filed under one explanation: hypermobility.

But having hEDS doesn’t mean every symptom is caused by hEDS.

A 2017 study published in Scientific Reports reviewed 379 patients diagnosed with hypermobile EDS, then referred to as EDS hypermobility type, and looked at how often additional rheumatologic conditions were identified depending on how extensively patients were evaluated.

The difference was striking:

8.8% with no additional workup
33.3% with limited workup
67.1% with comprehensive serological and radiographic workup

That 67.1% deserves an important caveat: it does NOT mean that 67% of everyone with hEDS has another rheumatologic condition. This was a retrospective study, and the authors acknowledged the potential for sampling bias.

But the findings raise an important point.

Once you have an hEDS diagnosis, there can be a temptation to explain every new ache, pain, or musculoskeletal symptom through that lens.

Sometimes hEDS may be the explanation. Sometimes it may not be.

If symptoms change, don’t fit the usual pattern, or suggest something else may be going on, it may be worth asking whether another condition deserves consideration.

An hEDS diagnosis can explain a lot. It shouldn’t automatically explain everything.

Have you ever had a symptom blamed on hEDS that ultimately had another explanation?

This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.



ID: Purple and teal educational carousel discussing a 2017 study of 379 patients with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and the additional rheumatologic conditions identified with different levels of diagnostic workup.

10/05/2026

What looks like “noncompliance” may actually be a treatment plan that’s incredibly hard to follow.

On this episode of Bendy Bodies, Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD, talks about treating POTS and dysautonomia in children and teenagers with both effectiveness and real life in mind.

Water, electrolytes, salt, and compression can all be important first-line tools. But they are not always enough, and they are not always easy.

A teenager struggling just to get through the school day may also struggle to drink enough fluids, increase salt consistently, or wear compression stockings in the summer. And for someone with hypermobility, even getting tight compression garments on can be physically difficult.

That shouldn’t automatically be labeled as a lack of effort.

Dr. Solomon emphasizes that when appropriate non-medication strategies aren’t enough, medication may also be worth discussing rather than withholding it until every lifestyle recommendation has been followed perfectly.

Sometimes the better question isn’t, “Why aren’t they following the treatment plan?”

It’s: Is this treatment plan realistic for the person expected to follow it?”

Have you ever been given a POTS treatment recommendation that sounded simple but was much harder to follow in real life?



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

VD: Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD, and Dr. Linda Bluestein discuss POTS treatment, including hydration, electrolytes, compression garments, medication, and why recommendations that appear simple may be difficult or impractical for patients with hypermobility, pain, fatigue, or heat intolerance.

10/02/2026

What if understanding your body’s signals could make some symptoms feel less scary?

In this episode of Bendy Bodies, Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD, explains how interoception can help us recognize and interpret what is happening inside the body.

For people with EDS, hypermobility, chronic pain, and other complex conditions, symptoms can be painful, unpredictable, and sometimes frightening. Part of the challenge is not always knowing what a sensation means or how urgently you need to respond.

As Dr. Solomon explains, developing greater body awareness can help you begin to distinguish between:

“This is familiar. I know what this is.”

and

“This feels different. I may need help.”

That doesn’t mean ignoring symptoms or becoming hyperfocused on every sensation. It means gradually learning your own patterns so that some everyday symptoms may feel more understandable, less disruptive, and easier to respond to appropriately.

And importantly, this kind of self-awareness is a process.

Has learning your body’s patterns changed how you respond when symptoms flare?



This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual situation.

VD: Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD, discusses interoception and how recognizing familiar body signals can help people respond to symptoms with greater confidence and distinguish everyday symptoms from those that may need more urgent evaluation.

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