It is known that physically active patients who have stiff muscles frequently develop pain.  What is less known is that patients with overly flexible joints will also frequently develop muscle pain.

Congenital diseases, such as Marfan Syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), may cause joints to repeatedly dislocate, resulting in stiffness in the muscles surrounding the joint – a way that the body attempts to help the unstable joint.  The reflexive stiffness and spasms in the muscles surrounding the unstable joint cause pain.

Treatment to relax the muscles such as injections into trigger points or into the muscle attachments may do too good a job – that is, if the muscles become too relaxed, the joint may become too loose and  continue to dislocate.

An alternative treatment we have used is low level laser therapy (LLLT).  LLLT uses light energy in a narrow wavelength (810-980nm) to deeply penetrate through the skin into the muscles and tendons.  LLLT produces an increase in chemicals in the body (Cytochrome C Oxidase) that enables the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which can aid in healing damaged tissue. Using LLLT to reduce pain in EDS patients has resulted in ~40% decrease in pain lasting for 3-4 weeks (or even longer!) without making the underlying muscle too loose.

Read more about EDS HERE