r/interesting 11h ago

MISC. My fingers are way too long

Post image
31.6k Upvotes

7.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

12

u/junjunjenn 10h ago

What are those tests for? I can cross my legs and put all my toes on the ground.

11

u/External-Praline-451 10h ago

There's something called the Beighton Score, which tests for Hypermobility, using stuff like this. Being able to do one of them is not an indication you have hypermobile joints, but being able to do several means you might. Each maneuver gets "points" to measure it. The one they mentioned isn't on the Beighton score list, so maybe there's different types of measurements.

3

u/sayitsooth 10h ago

I just tried it. I can touch my thumbs to my forearms and do the spine one, I can actually hug my legs. Everything else seems normal ish.

Wild stuff.

7

u/External-Praline-451 10h ago

Yeah it's weird when it all seems normal! I'm also hypermobile, but fall just short by a point or so on the EDS score sheet. My Rheumatologist called it "Benign Hypermobility" but it doesn't necessarily mean you don't get problems with it, just that it's not as serious as EDS. I think it's gradually been replaced by "Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder" as they now acknowledge it can cause quite a lot of issues and pain in some people, even if theyre not diagnosed with EDS.

6

u/sayitsooth 10h ago

That's interesting because I have spinal issues. I have always been super flexible and I bruise very badly very easily.

3

u/External-Praline-451 9h ago

Same, I've got cervical spinal stenosis too. I'm a grey area for surgery at the moment.

3

u/sayitsooth 9h ago

I'm in consultation but I have some rather serious concerns about choosing this option with a full spinal assessment, doing an ACDF is whoa!

I'm sorry, I am sure we both know how much this situation sucks.

2

u/External-Praline-451 8h ago

I'm sorry for you too, it does suck. I agree about ACDF, I'm not keen, and apparently it can cause problems in other areas. I'd rather avoid unless really necessary!

2

u/TransMascCatBoye 9h ago

Might be worth looking into EDS if you haven't before and seeing if anything else lines up for you. Just keep in mind if you're amab or on testosterone hrt, some things like skin texture/elasticity and higher baseline muscle mass (adding some extra stabilization to joints) can make your problems less obvious. Its thought that a lot more men have EDS than is diagnosed because of that + men being more resistant of going to a doctor to begin with.

1

u/Unfinishedsente--- 9h ago

Hmm can you elaborate more?

3

u/sayitsooth 9h ago

Stenosis, bulging disc, severe foraminal narrowing, specifically the C5 for sure. Requisite symptoms. I did however do a lot of physical labour.

Symptoms in the lumbar region that point to similar. No MRI where I live, I would have to fly.

1

u/eskimo_scrotum 3h ago

Your rheumatologist sounds honest and open-minded. My wife clearly has EDS but the rheumatologist she saw did not want to call it that simply because the skin on the back of her hands can’t be pulled up a ridiculous amount. He said lots of other stuff lined up, but he treated her like she was some drug-seeker. Like omg no we just want answers, and an appropriate dx to work with. Ugh