Hypermobility Pain: The hEDS Overachiever’s Guide to Standing Still 

People think Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome is just “being bendy.”

Ha. I wish!

If that were true, yoga instructors would rule the world and we’d all be thriving. Instead, many of us are exhausted, in pain, and flaring… from doing nothing extraordinary. Sometimes from standing still.

Let me explain why: in EDS, your body is working overtime just to exist.

The problem no one explains: your joints don’t know where they are

Your body relies on something called proprioception -  think of it as your internal GPS. Proprioceptors are specialised nerve endings that live in:

• Muscles

• Tendons

• Joint capsules and ligaments
  
  

Their job is simple: tell your brain where your body parts are, how fast they’re moving, and how much force is being used. In a non-EDS body, this system runs quietly in the background.

In EDS, the signal is fuzzy, delayed, or straight-up unreliable.

What goes wrong in hypermobility (step by step)

Here’s the chain reaction, in plain English:

Loose connective tissue
→ proprioceptors don’t get stretched properly
→ signals to the brain are weak, delayed, or confusing

So then:

• Joints feel unanchored

• The brain has to guess where your limbs are

• Safety systems kick in

And your nervous system does not like guessing.

The body’s panic response: muscle co-contraction

When a joint moves unexpectedly, muscle spindles (stretch sensors inside muscles) notice the surprise.

They send an emergency message to the spinal cord: 

“Something moved when we didn’t expect it. Lock it down.”

Result?

• Agonist and antagonist muscles fire at the same time

• Everything tightens

• Stability improves
  
  

Briefly, but the cost is huge.

Why this hurts and exhausts you

That constant bracing means:

• Muscles are never fully relaxed

• Energy use skyrockets

• Blood flow is reduced

• Pain receptors stay switched on

Your brain also gets dragged into the mess. 

Because proprioception isn’t reliable, it starts:

• Over-monitoring movement

• Using vision and touch as backups

• Running constant error correction
  
  

So yes, your brain is burning energy just to help you stand there.

Standing still becomes cardio.
Sitting upright becomes a task.
Existing becomes taxing.

Why “just relax” is the worst advice imaginable

When someone says: “Your muscles are tight, you need to relax.”

What they’re missing is your muscles aren’t tight because you’re stressed.  They’re tight because they’re keeping your joints from falling apart.

Relaxing without support feels unsafe to your nervous system. And unsafe nervous systems do not relax -  they brace harder.

Why EDS pain is so weird and widespread

This is also why:

• Pain moves around

• Imaging often looks “normal”

• You hurt more after low-effort days

• Flares happen without obvious injury

The wrong tissues get loaded.
Stabilising muscles do everyone else’s job.
And the nervous system never clocks out.

Why EDS-specific exercise isn’t optional

For hypermobility, exercise means teaching your brain where your body is.

EDS-appropriate rehab:

• Improves proprioceptive input

• Gives clearer signals to the brain

• Reduces the need for constant bracing
  
  

In other words: Exercises are the reminder system your joints forgot to install.

Done correctly, they lower pain and fatigue.  Done incorrectly, they light everything on fire.

Why standing still is often worse than moving

Movement gives your nervous system feedback.

Standing still? It removes the clues.

So the brain panics a little and says: “Brace everything. Just in case.”

Hence the classic EDS experience:

• Worse pain waiting in line

• Shaking legs while standing

• Needing to lean, sit, perch, or fidget
  
  

You’re not weak -  your nervous system is just working overtime.

The EDS sayings that are funny because they’re painfully accurate

• My joints and my brain are in a long-distance relationship

• EDS proprioception is like driving with a GPS that updates every three blocks

• My muscles aren’t tight because I’m fit; they’re tight because they’re terrified

• Standing still is my cardio

• My brain says “move left” and my body says “define left”

• Every step is a surprise party for my nervous system

• I can trip over nothing. Literally nothing

• “Relax your muscles.” Sure. If they felt safe, they would

• In EDS, proprioceptors don’t send signals, they send riddles

The takeaway

Hypermobility pain isn’t just about loose joints. It’s about:

• Unreliable body signals

• A nervous system stuck in overdrive

• Muscles working as full-time bodyguards
  
  

You are not dramatic.
You are not deconditioned.
And you are definitely not “just anxious” - your body is overachieving at staying upright.

And honestly,  it’s doing an impressive job considering everything!

Sending gentle, well-supported, proprioception-friendly hugs to every zebra whose body turns standing still into an endurance sport. You’re not broken - you’re compensating. And that matters.