Ehlers-Danlos syndrome affects the connective tissues of blood vessels, joints, and skin. Connective tissues contain complex proteins, which strengthens these structures and provide them elasticity.
When you have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, you will have extremely flexible joints as well as fragile skin. The problem becomes even more complicated when you require stitches on a wound. It is because you have a weak skin that won’t hold the stitches accurately.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome can cause damage to the blood vessels, intestines, and uterus. Most often, it causes the rupturing of the uterus walls. The vascular forms of this condition can lead to serious complications for women, especially in pregnancy.
Therefore, it is essential to consult with a genetic counselor before you decide to get pregnant or give birth to the child. In today’s article, we will talk about this condition in detail. Read on!
What is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?
Ehlers-Danlos is a common condition which affects your body’s connective tissues. As mentioned above, connective tissues are complex protein structures that provide strength and elasticity to various organs of the body.
Not only do they provide support to your bodily tissues, such as bones, skins, blood vessels, and muscles, they also strengthen your tendons, ligaments, organs, gums, eyes, and other soft structures.
People suffering from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have problems in the composition and structure of connective tissues that can cause various issues, such as stretchy skin, the fragile outer layer of the skin, and joint hypermobility.
Research studies have shown that this is a genetic disorder, which means when the parent is affected, he or she can pass the mutation to their baby, and the chance of occurrence in the children is between 25-50%.
Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome can affect different joints in the body. It can particularly cause sacroiliac joint dysfunction and pain. It can also lead to low back pain, leg pain, and discomfort in the hip area.
The sacroiliac joint has strong ligaments. The cartilage of this joint works as a shock absorber between the spinal bones. When the cartilage is healthy, the spine will work fine. On the other hand, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome can cause changes in the ligaments and cartilage of the Sacroiliac joint. These changes can cause significant pain in the back and hip areas.
What are the Possible Treatments for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?
Usually, the doctor prescribes physical therapy to patients to manage their joint symptoms. Physical therapy aims to decrease the risk of dislocations. Health specialists at MINT recommend working with a physical therapist who is aware of sacroiliac joint dysfunction and pain caused by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Discomfort and chronic pain are the primary symptoms of this health condition. You will feel pain in your muscles, joints, and nerves. Sometimes, the condition can lead to other complications, such as headaches, high blood pressure, and gastrointestinal issues.
Medication is an important part of the pain management plan for patients with this health disorder. Your doctor may prescribe you over-the-counter drugs for pain management on a daily basis. These drugs include ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Some people undergo back pain surgery to relieve sacroiliac joint dysfunction and pain. However, open back surgery leads to a lot of complications, such as damage to the surrounding tissues, ligaments, and muscles. Open back surgery also cause damage to the nerves. It has longer recovery times and a higher risk of failure.
On the other hand, minimally invasive lumbar fusion fuses the spinal bones in the lower back to restrict motion between them. It helps reduce pain, spinal pressure, and nerve damage. The surgery does not require making a large incision compared to the open back surgery.
It spares the surrounding tissues, ligaments, and nerves. This is the reason lumbar fusion has quicker recovery time. Moreover, a laminectomy is a minimally invasive procedure used to relieve pressure on the nerve roots.
It is a minimally invasive technique that requires the surgeon to remove the lamina, which is a part of the vertebra bone. This allows the surgeon to access the disk. Removing the lamina helps to take the pressure off your spine.
Contact MINT for MIS Surgery
MINT is a popular and reputable health organization in Plano, TX. Our clinic has neurosurgeons and doctors with many years of experience. Not only do our neurosurgeons contribute to high-level clinical studies, but our surgeons have also performed hundreds of MIS procedures to treat a wide range of spinal conditions.
We have state-of-the-art equipment with the latest technology tools to carry out the procedure. So, if you have been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and suffering from Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction and Pain, Contact MINT today!
