Individuals with EDS may experience:

• Joint hypermobility

• Chronic pain

• Frequent joint subluxations or instability

• Muscle tension and guarding

• Fatigue during daily activity

• Neck, shoulder, back, or pelvic pain

• Difficulty maintaining posture

• Reduced body awareness or coordination

• Digestive discomfort and abdominal tension

• Frequent injuries or delayed recovery

Symptoms can vary significantly from person to person, making individualized care especially important.

In EDS, connective tissues may provide less passive support to joints and surrounding structures. As a result, the body often relies more heavily on muscular tension and compensation to create stability.

Over time this may contribute to:

• Overworked stabilizing muscles

• Chronic guarding patterns

• Reduced movement efficiency

• Joint instability

• Repetitive strain and injury

• Altered posture and movement mechanics

• Increased fatigue from daily activities

• Tension throughout fascial and visceral tissues

Many individuals with EDS develop movement strategies that help them function but may create additional strain over time.

Manual therapy for EDS focuses on supporting stability, body awareness, and movement quality rather than increasing flexibility.

Potential benefits may include:

• Reducing excessive muscle guarding

• Supporting more balanced muscle activation

• Improving awareness of joint position and movement

• Encouraging efficient movement patterns

• Supporting tissue mobility without forceful manipulation

• Reducing compensatory strain patterns

• Improving overall comfort and function

The goal is not to increase range of motion, but to help the body utilize its existing movement more effectively and with greater control.

My approach to EDS is gentle, individualized, and focused on helping the body develop greater stability and awareness.

Sessions may include:

• Gentle hands-on manual therapy

• Assessment of movement and compensation patterns

• Support for activating muscles that may not be engaging efficiently

• Structural and fascial balancing techniques

• Visceral manual therapy to address restrictions that may influence posture, movement, and comfort

• Education regarding movement strategies and injury prevention

• Clothes-on treatment tailored to your specific presentation

Rather than forcing alignment or relying on aggressive techniques, treatment focuses on helping the body organize itself more efficiently while supporting the systems that contribute to stability and function.

Clients with EDS often describe sessions as:

• Gentle and comfortable

• Less overwhelming than forceful treatment approaches

• Improved awareness of how their body moves

• Reduced muscular tension and guarding

• Feeling more balanced and supported

• Increased confidence in movement

• Better understanding of how to manage symptoms between visits

Many individuals report that learning how their body compensates is just as valuable as the hands-on treatment itself.

This approach may be helpful for individuals experiencing:

• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)

• Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD)

• Chronic joint instability

• Recurrent sprains or injuries

• Persistent muscular tension

• Movement coordination challenges

• Chronic pain associated with hypermobility

• Individuals seeking a gentle alternative to forceful manipulation

This work may also complement medical care, physical therapy, strength training, occupational therapy, and other rehabilitation approaches when appropriate.