Navigating Healthcare as a Hypermobile Human
An online course for patients, healthcare providers, and movement professionals, to learn the most important self care strategies, diagnoses, tests and treatments to consider to help hypermobile humans manage pain, dysautonomia, MCAS and more.
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Do you suspect that your bendy body is at the root cause of a lifetime of cryptic and unexplained symptoms?
Or
Are you a movement or healthcare professional that wants to give the best possible care to your hypermobile patients/clients?
Do you or your patients struggle with things like
- Chronic pain
- Joint subluxations/dislocations
- Severe fatigue
- Brain fog
- Lightheadedness/dizziness
- Poor tolerance for being upright (orthostatic intolerance)
- Heat intolerance
- GI dysfunction
- Food sensitivities
- TMJ and pelvic floor issues
- Headaches/migraine
- Anxiety/depression
Many people struggle for years with these seemingly unrelated issues.
Often basic medical work up will be normal and you may have gotten a diagnosis of "stress" or "anxiety" to explain all of it.
Symptomatic joint hypermobility including the Ehlers Danlos Syndromes (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD,) involve connective tissue which causes symptoms in EVERY SYSTEM in the body!
In most medical training, providers learn connective tissue disorders are rare and often don't learn much beyond the musculoskeletal symptoms like joint dislocations.
However, current research shows that symptomatic hypermobility is much more common than previously understood.
We often need to be the smartest people in the room when discussing EDS and HSD with health care providers.
People with EDS and HSD very commonly have co-conditions including
- Dysautonomia (POTS, orthostatic hypotension and more)
- Mast Cell Activation Disorders
- Upper Cervical Instability (UCI)
- Slow GI motility leading to gastroparesis, SIBO and more
- Neurodivergence (ADHD, autism)
- much more
These co-conditions very commonly explain most if not all of the symptoms listed above in hypermobile humans!
In this course, you'll learn the biggest dial movers that would have saved me YEARS of struggle with this journey, and that I teach all of my 1:1 patients and clients.
As a Physical Therapist, we learned BRIEFLY about EDS in PT school. We discussed the genetic nature of this condition and that joint dislocations were involved. Essentially, just the basics with a strong emphasis on the most severe presentation.
So for many years, even though I knew that I was by far the most hypermobile person I knew, I had no explanation for symptoms that made me feel like absolute garbage, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
It took years of research on my own, and seeking providers all over the country in order to get to the root of my issues.
Once I was properly diagnosed with hEDS and treated for dysautonomia, MCAS and SIBO, I made signifiant improvements in my health, as do many of my patients and clients.
For my movement and health professionals
So many of you have reached out asking for advice on how to best help your hypermobile patients and clients.
Learning more about the co-conditions related to EDS/HSD, make a huge difference in your ability to help this population because many times these other systemic issues are the thing that is limiting recovery, causing flares and making it challenging to get the benefits from your awesome MSK interventions.
In addition, with a few specific considerations for the differences in a hypermobile body, your manual and movement based interventions can be much more successful and less likely to cause flares.
Medical gaslighting and trauma are real concerns
That's why I put together this course to give you a concise but thorough overview including loads of scientific evidence to back it up, so you'll be better equipped to advocate for you own care.
And...
To help you start feeling better ASAP, there will be a big emphasis on easy to implement DIY strategies.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this course is medical advice and is presented for educational purposes only.
What you'll learn
- How EDS and HSD is are diagnosed and by whom
- What types of providers to see and how to find them
- What medical testing to ask for
- Pain management strategies
- Medications to consider
- How to get the most out of rehab even with a non-EDS aware provider (PT, chiro, trainer etc)
- Testing, treatment options and self management of dysautonomia and MCAS
- Testing, treatment options and self management of GI disorders - with highlight on SIBO
What you'll get
- 19 video modules
- Lifetime access (including updates and additional modules!)
- Curated list of helpful scientific journal articles to discuss with your providers
- 19 page E-book PDF guide to bring to your movement professional to help them help you
- PDF guide for having more success with medical appointments.
- Large resource hub with links to helpful websites, social media accounts, books and favorite products (regularly updated)
Renee from South Africa
"Navigating Healthcare as a Hypermobile Human is the best education I have found on EDS since I was diagnosed two years ago. There is so much information, you may need to watch it twice (especially if you are guilty of multi-tasking as I am). It was so powerful for me. I was able to speak to my PCP and get dxed with orthostatic hypotension after hearing Melissa's experience with OH. I have a long way to go but this course has opened a lot of doors for me. Thanks so much Melissa!!!"
This sounds interesting, but what exactly will I learn?
There's 7+ hours of video split up into 18 lessons with digestible chunks of evidence based, ready to use information.
1. Intro to EDS/HSD (29:48)
2. hEDS and HSD Diagnostic Process (15:17)
3. Intro to Dysautonomia (27:44)
4. POTS and Dysautonomia Self Care (37:35)
5. Mast Cell Activation Disorders (17:06)
6. Mast Cell Medical Management (11:55)
7. Tips for Talking to Your Provider (19:52)
8. GI Dysfunction - Intro (8:16)
9. Gastroparesis (15:33)
10. Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth - SIBO (36:44)
11. Important Nutrients for Hypermobile Humans (26:38)
12. Hormones (6:09)
13. Fatigue Intro (4:14)
14. ME/CFS - Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (48:26)
I'm ready to learn this!
15. Success strategies for working with movement and rehab professionals (27:06)
16. Bracing, taping, pillows and cushions (15:12)
17. Red/IR light and TENS for pain (13:17)
18. Movement Strategies (33:45)
19. Intro to Upper Cervical Instability - UCI (15:15)
20. Surgical Considerations for EDS/HSD (30:21)
Bonus: two previously recorded Q &A sessions
Get a sneak peak
No surprises here! If you're wondering exactly what this course looks like, have a little look around :)
What People Are Saying
Lesley
"Calling ALL healthcare providers…if you are on the fence of whether to take this course or not, please, please do.
The information provided is very helpful in educating and treating those patients who have been given a hypermobilty diagnosis as well as helps cue you in to helping those that walk through your door that haven’t yet received a diagnosis. I now know how to better communicate with patients with hEDS and hypermobility syndrome. And I, as a physical therapist, am better able help them in the best way possible for that moment in time on their journey."
Ash
"Even my specialists don't know as much about vitamins and supplements to best keep up daily health with MCAS/POTS/chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia! Though I've been through multiple intensive programs over the last 15 years to help get my body and movement back on track, not even the most-recommended local ones had a third of the information she's able to pass on."
Amanda
"Melissa has been an amazing resource on my journey managing EDS and POTS. She's always ready to listen to what's been going on and to offer insights and educational materials. My pain has been so much better since I started working with her!"
Caroline
"As a patient with a complex health history who has worked with around a dozen different physical therapists throughout my life and a clinician who works in healthcare, I can confidently say that Dr. Koehl is both the best physical therapist I have worked with and one of the best healthcare providers I've ever met."
Debbie
"I FINALLY found someone who deeply understands how to work with hypermobile people! Some of Melissa's approaches to emergency pain can be like magic! I have overall less pain and more self-acceptance and -understanding because of our work. I'm so glad to have her on my care team!"
Hi! I'm Dr. Melissa Koehl
I'm a Physical Therapist and Pilates instructor, and I live with hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS).
Like many of you, my journey with hypermobility has been long and complex. In addition to pain and injuries, I've also struggled with dysautonomia, MCAS, and GI dysfunction all of which lead to severe fatigue and brain fog that was so severe that I almost quit working as a PT because I was spending most of my time off work recovering, and researching just what the heck was wrong with me.
I understand the struggle, frustration and despair of hypermobility and chronic illness.
Thankfully, there are things you can do that REALLY help, and it's my passion to share what I've learned with my fellow zebras in order to feel strong, stable and in control of their bodies.
FAQ
I don't have a diagnosis, but I think I might be hypermobile, this for me?
I live outside of the US, will this info apply to me?
I'm a health care provider or fitness professional, can I receive continuing education units? (CEU)
I've done years of research on EDS and related conditions, will I learn anything new?
What if this information doesn't apply to me?
Sounds great, I'm in! How much?
You're getting lots of good stuff here...
- 7+ hours of videos split into easy to reference chapters
- 19 page PDF guide for your rehab or movement pro to help them learn how to be successful when working with hypermobile humans
- PDF guide for navigating medical appointments
- Curated library of important resources including scientific articles, recommended products, websites, social media accounts to follow, specific podcast episodes to listen to and more
- Lifetime access including updates!
For less than the cost of 2 one on one sessions with me ($195), you'll get lifetime access to the educational information I share with my patients and clients in over 12+ sessions.
Imagine trying to do your PT exercises but you're so dizzy and fatigued from POTS that you just CAN'T.
Or
Trying to keep up with a rehab program but you're struggling with fatigue and can't seem to gain strength because your GI system is just not absorbing nutrients like it should.
And, yes....there's a LOT to learn about all of these things. And the education you may get from medical providers, online, or on social media can be overwhelming and confusing even when it is high quality accurate info.
This is why I created this course as way to have easy access to this info all in one place, both for patients and busy providers and movement professionals.
