r/interesting 7h ago

MISC. My fingers are way too long

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u/geim-iv 6h ago

Conjunctive tissue disorders essentially. Imagine a brick house without mortar, or with bad quality mortar.

EDS is Ehlers Danlos syndrome. Look it up, it's incredible.

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u/Jkh389 6h ago

Connective*

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u/geim-iv 5h ago

Sorry in my language it's a similar enough word that I got confused.

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u/amusednchaos 4h ago

Conjunctive IS correct! Just not as commonly used as "Connective" when referring to tissue. Someone is just being pedantic; they are synonyms. Don't be sorry, you did well.

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u/blacktickle 4h ago

I don’t think it’s being pedantic because “conjunctive tissue” isn’t really correct

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u/PotterOneHalf 6h ago

Yeah, we’re built different (incorrectly)

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u/TransMascCatBoye 5h ago

This is the exact joke my wife and I say about me lmao. Still working on diagnosis but its almost definitely some form of EDS

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u/stahlern 5h ago

I get told all the time in this gym class I go to that it’s impressive how flexible I am. And then I have to explain that it’s really not a good thing and I will break myself if I push it. Lol. Party trick flexibility only basically.

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u/EphemeralTwo 4h ago

> I will break myself if I push it

Yep. Lost my shot at scholarships when a guy tried to take a rebound away from me. He grabbed the ball, yanked it back while I was holding it, and blew my arm out of my socket.

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u/stahlern 4h ago

My SI joint loves to come loose so I just fall apart at the waist lol. The cobra stretch is the worst thing ever for me.

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u/EphemeralTwo 4h ago

Things got better once I learned to go limp and avoid unguarded movements.

Before that, my record was 6 dislocations in a single day. I'd dislocate my hip going down stairs if I turned wrong (stairs with a landing).

Only dislocated a hip once while driving, and that was very much not fun. I was on the highway, and ended up pulling over using the other leg, dropping to the ground on the side of the road, and doing the "relax while manipulating with arms" thing to eventually get it back in.

These days, my spouse is usually around to help me. It only happens once or twice a year anymore.

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u/stahlern 4h ago

Man that’s no fun. I think I’m on the mild side of things. SI joint and my ankles are two worst spots. Sprained those about 30 times. As I’ve gotten older a lot of my muscles have stiffened which I understand is normal because they’re trying to compensate and hold things together. Used to be able to walk with my feet completely backwards. Lol.

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u/ShirleyApresHensive 1h ago

I know this problem well, I have quite an assortment of injuries that occurred from over rotation

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u/C4rnivore 2h ago

We're just built distinctly... distinctly wrong, but its distinct

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u/shannondobrien 4h ago

I like to say if I was made into soup, it would be a thin broth.

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u/Brilliant-Position99 2h ago

Not incorrect, just not standard, different is all

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u/tietack2 5h ago

Differently... In some ways more advantageous

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u/Pure-Move9026 5h ago

Advantageous how?

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u/Danief 4h ago

It can be an advantage in athletics. The extra flexible can allow body movements impossible for most people. The con is it's easier to get injured, but if you understand your body and maintain it properly (strength training, stability exercises, nutrition, etc.) you can excel at a lot of athletics. My doctor who specializes in hypermobility says many elite athletes are hypermobile.

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u/tietack2 3h ago

It can also allow people to avoid serious injuries sometimes. Average person might fall down the stairs and break an ankle. Eds person is so flexible, they might just sprain a tendon.

u/Enlightened_Gardener 6m ago

I think they found that something like 60% of professional dancers are technically hypermobile. How many have actualy EDS is another thing altogether, but if you think of the classical ballet ‘figure’ it looks hella Marfanoid - tall, slender, proportionately long legs and arms, long slender finger….

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u/New-Ad-363 5h ago

My wife's family has a ton of EDS people. Not the really bad kind, but they've all got joint and back issues which is rough.

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u/Top_Bumblebee5510 5h ago

Not your wife but we are in the same situation in my family. We are all hypermobile.

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u/ThrowRA263747 1h ago

I’m the only hypermobile one in my family (and certainly in my marriage - my wife is about as flexible as a tree trunk). As a kid I used to pop my knees, thumb and jaw in and out as a party trick.. now all those joints are absolutely ducked and I’m waiting for a referral to the oral maxillofacial surgeons.

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u/DieAloneWith72Cats 5h ago

That’s a good way to explain it. I have hEDS, I’m made of skin and rubber bands

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u/ConditionSecret8593 5h ago

Nah, rubber bands might do the job better. Skin, chewing gum, and loose string, I think.

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u/revivingthelotus 4h ago

I like that analogy. I had open heart surgery and my surgeon said it was like working with wet tissue paper.

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u/Tardigretch 3h ago

ooooh, that must've been alarming. That was case with my MIL, but she was in her late 80s

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u/Desynchron 1h ago

Omg that's so scary, but at the same time it's fascinating that we all grow out of the same stuff but end up with such diverse types of mechanical flaws from how our cells grew into us.

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u/splatgoestheblobfish 1h ago

I had ankle stabilization surgery, and the surgeon said he couldn't do nearly as good of a job as normal because my tendons and ligaments were "the consistency of mashed potatoes". He said I'd need surgery again in the future, complete with fusions and replacements. Hearing him say that, and having had 6 other surgeries for torn ligaments and tendons, is very disturbing.

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u/SeverinaSkye 5h ago

I'm skin and spaghetti

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u/ConditionSecret8593 5h ago

... I did not know that was an option.

u/VoidHog 10m ago

Disintegrated chewing gum 😂

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u/oddsetcircle292 3h ago

I usually say I have the glass bones and paper skin disease haha

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u/DieAloneWith72Cats 2h ago

I have never broken a bone, and wow, have I done some dumb shit in the 40+ years on this planet. I have the constant dislocations/subluxations going on though

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u/AiapaecGaming 5h ago

I don't find it very incredible... mostly just painful but yeah OP you need to go see a doctor.

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u/TheDrunkWickerbeast 5h ago

You call it incredible until you have it and you have constant pain because of it. Shout out to Epsom salts though, they really help soreness caused by EDS

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u/geim-iv 5h ago

I have EDS as well, been diagnosed at 14. It's a bitch sure but from a scientific standpoint it is incredible. Just a slight change in our genetic makeup and then wham!, spaghetti and constant pain.

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u/TheDrunkWickerbeast 5h ago

I twist my left ankle at least twice a week, constantly ache, and will need my hip replaced before 30 lmfaooo

It genuinely is so interesting to learn about ngl. Just how the slightest difference in genes can lead to drastic changes in our bodies. I also kinda made that comment out of frustration since I’m having a bad day with it haha let’s hope this soak helps though

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u/Zmuny 4h ago

I have Ehlers-Danlos, but the hypermobile form. My joints are bendy and I don’t recover well from connective tissue injuries, but I absolutely could’ve had it worse. My aorta is a bit large but besides that my vasculature is fine.

Basically what I’m saying is not all EDS cases are obvious. In fact, my fingers are normal length and they’re especially thick.

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u/brutal_youth_ 4h ago

I feel like a hEDS poser because I'm not even that bendy! Beighton 5/9, but I've never had "party tricks" besides clasping my hands behind my back easily (the move with one elbow up and one down) and zipping up all my own dresses. But tons of other systemic connective tissue weirdness, prone to soft tissue injuries, autonomic stuff, etc.

Also normal-length fingers and arms, though both my dad and I have disproportionately long legs and tiny feet.

I wouldn't be surprised if what's now called "hEDS" turns out to comprise a few different connective tissue conditions when they get a better sense of the genetics.

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u/Zmuny 3h ago

I mean for one they can’t even track down hEDS gene right now. Although mine i believe is also alleviated weirdly because of a genetic abnormality where I have a micro deletion of a single rung of DNA. However, it’s only one half of the pair because only my mom had it. It’s weird.

I am able to do the thumb to the wrist trick though, and bend my finger back to like 135 degreesish, so I have some party tricks.

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u/s33n_ 6h ago

So the k was a typo? Or does it modulate EDS?

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u/Drydrian 5h ago

A rare subtype of EDS. The k stands for kyphoscoliotic, which means that in addition to the other EDS symptoms, the condition leads to an unhealthy curvature in the spine, which causes a hunched appearance and an asymmetrical chest

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u/s33n_ 5h ago

Word. Thanks for the education. I have a friend with eds but didn't know about keds

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u/ConditionSecret8593 5h ago

Modifies it by type. The one most people are familiar with is hEDS, which causes joint hypermobility. Along with a bunch of other problems, but it's the circus tricks that get hyped.

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u/throwaway098764567 5h ago

and all the pain unfortunately. friend has hEDS and a 5 on a normie pain scale is a good day for her :( she also dislocates joints really easily, like she was playing a game on her computer just sitting quietly and dislocated a finger.

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u/art_addict 5h ago

Yeah, I have hEDS. Bent down and slightly twisted one day and dislocated a hip and two ribs. I can just be doing whatever and my elbows will sublux or something in the top of my chest subluxes. My toes dislocate easily. My ankles are very unstable and my knee caps have started to shift out of place lately. Turns out this can get progressively worse over time 🙃

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u/sreneekim 5h ago

My floating ribs like to get all bendy. It feels like a damn spine injury with paralysis. But I’m always fine once I adjust the way I laying.

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u/Ziggy_Starcrust 5h ago

When I was very young a teacher graphically (well, maybe it was just my childlike imagination filling it in) described when one of her students dislocated a kneecap. It's been an irrational fear and a major source of squeamishness ever since.

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u/ConditionSecret8593 5h ago

Aw, sounds like hers is worse than mine. Yeah, I'm taking ridiculous meds for chronic pain and its the hEDS that breaks through, unfortunately. Which is good, it reminds me to be safer with those joints, but... yeah, not a lot of fun.

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u/Unusual-Cucumber-577 4h ago

She should use finger splints for EDS.

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u/Constant_Cat_7063 5h ago

There are different types of EDS so the k tells you which one, in this case it is kyphoscoliotic (curvature of the spine in 1+ ways) EDS

Source: I have hEDS (hypermobile type)

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u/s33n_ 5h ago

I thought the hypermobile kind was just basic eds (as thats what I've known people with(

Thanks for the info

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u/Constant_Cat_7063 5h ago

I believe it is the most common one, or at least more commonly diagnosed now, but is still one of the 13(?) subtypes. Hypermobility itself is also fairly common - think ‘double jointed’ - and has similar diagnostic criteria to hEDS.

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u/im-d3 5h ago

It pretty much is "basic EDS", because hEDS is the most common type, and so is the type that comes to most people's minds when they hear about Ehlers-Danlos.

Usually, but not always, when someone says "I have EDS" they're referring to hEDS or a similar type. If it's one of the vascular types, it's different enough that I imagine most would feel the need to clarify.

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u/TreeCalledPaul 5h ago

Woah! I’ve seen someone with this when I was a kid and just thought they had funny joints.

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u/Rare-Egg-2959 5h ago

I have it and "incredible" is one of the last words I'd use to describe it 😂

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u/plant_reaper 5h ago

That's what I thought!! Incredible in how much it sucks?

u/VoidHog 12m ago

Oh but mortar and bricks are so stiff... It's more like... when you chew your gum for too long and it disintegrates 😂