The incidence of hypermobility syndrome in girls aged 16-18

Introduction. Joint hypermobility is a rarely diagnosed abnormality, which may be due to the fact that young people excessive range of motion is considered to be normal, and among adults and olders causes of reported pain is seen in/believed to be other diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of generalized joint hipermobility in girls aged 16-18 years. Material and methods. The study included 96 girls aged 16-18 years. To assess hypermobility the Beighton scale and Bulbena scale were used. Measurements of height and weight were also made. The study was complemented by an original survey/ questionnaire. Queries related to the presence of pain and its location, the history of the injury and the subjective assessment of vulnerability to injury. Results. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the incidence of hypermobility among examined girls was 28% in the assessment using Beighton scale and 45% based on the Bulbena scale. The correlation between the two scales was defined as high (r = 0.58). The relationship between BMI factor and the amount of points in Bulbena scale was poor (r = -0.21), and between the BMI and the amount of points in Beighton scale that was found no correlation (r = 0.01). When determining the susceptibility to injury, a recurrence of an injury was reported in 42% girls with hypermobility examined using Beighton scale and in 29% of girls with hypermobility examined using Bulbena scale. Conclusions. The incidence of hypermobility in girls aged 16 - 18 years is high and varies depending on the adopted scale. There is no significant correlation between body composition determined on the basis of BMI factor and the number of points achieved in hypermobility evaluation scale. People with excessive mobility of the joints are more prone to injuries than those with a normal range of movement.