WELCOME TO BENDY BODIES, WHERE YOU’LL FIND MEDICAL INSIGHTS & SCIENCE-BASED INFORMATION FOR EVERY BENDY BODY. LISTEN, LEARN, & SHARE!

Season 3

Aug. 31, 2023

73. Understanding Lower Extremity Pain with Pradeep Chopra, MD

The lower extremities must bear the weight of our whole bodies. Problems in the hip may cause a chain reaction of aches, imbalances, or chronic issues that could manifest in the knee, ankle, or somewhere else along the kineti...

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Aug. 17, 2023

72. Examining Upper Extremity Pain with Pradeep Chopra, MD

Joints of the upper extremity (eg: shoulders, elbows, fingers, etc) can be prone to subluxation and dislocation in those with joint hypermobility and/or joint instability. As we continue our discussions on common causes of pa...

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July 20, 2023

71. Examining Head, Spine, and Chest Pain with Pradeep Chopra, MD

Connective tissue runs throughout your body, surrounding and connecting every system. This is what makes treating issues that arise from connective tissue disorders so difficult: when everything is connected, it’s hard to fin...

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June 29, 2023

70. Examining Abdominal Pain with Pradeep Chopra, MD

Abdominal pain is an extremely common finding in people with connective tissue disorders, like Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS). Similar to other issues patients face with EDS or Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD), getting ...

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June 8, 2023

69. Traveling with a Chronic Disorder with Dr. Linda Bluestein, Krist…

Travel comes with a lot of uncertainty: flights get canceled, hotel reservations are lost, luggage never turns up. But add the complications of traveling with a chronic disorder like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and voyaging becom...

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May 25, 2023

68. Fostering Hope for Hypermobility with Cortney Gensemer, PhD, Vict…

Symptomatic joint hypermobility can be difficult to understand and can present in so many different ways. Recently, Victoria Daylor, Dr. Cortney Gensemer, Dr. Russell Norris, and Dr. Linda Bluestein published a CME two-part s...

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May 11, 2023

67. Destigmatizing Eating Disorders with Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani

Eating disorders are complicated and not uncommon in artistic athletes. Common comorbidities of symptomatic joint hypermobility (SJH), like mast cell activation disorder (MCAD) or gastroparesis, may contribute to disordered e...

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April 20, 2023

66. Codifying Upper Cervical Instability with Leslie Russek, DPT, PhD

Upper cervical instability (UCI) occurs quite commonly in the mild form and more rarely in the severe form in those with symptomatic generalized joint hypermobility (S-GJH). Both can be impactful and are frequently missed. ...

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April 6, 2023

65. Finding Balance with Jenelle Manzi

Thriving as a professional artist with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome can be challenging. Finding a balance between pushing yourself physically and listening to your body when it needs rest is difficult when you are part of a compan...

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March 23, 2023

64. Demystifying Chiropractic Care with Dr. Carrie Skony

Chiropractic care has been around for over 100 years, but many people don’t quite know what it entails. Artistic athletes may be told to add regular chiropractic visits to their regimen to help relieve pain without really und...

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March 9, 2023

63. Shining Your Light with Gigi Robinson

Living with a chronic illness like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) can be demoralizing. You may not have access to the care you need, loved ones do not get it, and loneliness can be a reality for so many people. Gigi Robinson …

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Feb. 23, 2023

62. Deconstructing Head Pain with Rudrani Banik, MD

Headaches and migraines are common in many chronic illnesses, and people with hypermobility often struggle with chronic head pain for a variety of reasons. But what is the difference between migraine and other types of headac...

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Feb. 9, 2023

61. Getting Back Up Again with Keeya Steel

Life with multiple chronic illnesses is physically and mentally challenging. Feelings of exhaustion and emotional fatigue crowd in with physical symptoms and can be overwhelming in your daily life. How do you find balance? Ho...

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Jan. 26, 2023

60. Strengthening Precision with Monica Lorenzo, MS, ATC

Dance injuries can be career ending especially for those with joint hypermobility. Competition dance or precision performance can introduce a whole new set of challenges, whether it’s dancing as part of a team, competitive ch...

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Jan. 12, 2023

59. Preparing for Competitions: A Round Table with Kristin Koskinen R…

For most artistic athletes, competition is a part of life. Whether you’re a dancer, skater, gymnast, or cheerleader chances are you’re competing at some point. Competitions can be grueling, multi-day events consisting of 14-h...

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Dec. 15, 2022

58. Preparing for Surgery with Linda Bluestein, MD

Hypermobility disorders can lead to health complications that may require surgery. Joint hypermobility and associated conditions can present complications for surgery, anesthesia, and more. If you’re anticipating surgery, ...

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Dec. 1, 2022

57. Alleviating Anxiety with Jo-Anne La Flèche

Dance and other performing arts are, by nature, stressful. Stress can easily develop into anxiety, which is exponentially more common in the hypermobile population than the general population. How can you distinguish between ...

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Nov. 17, 2022

56. Optimizing Immunity with Kristin Koskinen, RDN

As the weather changes and schedules become busier, staying healthy can feel like a huge challenge. Artistic athletes may struggle to keep their bodies at optimal performance level, and fighting off infectious illnesses may s...

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Nov. 3, 2022

55. Cultivating Resiliency with Jazz Bynum

As a young dancer, Jazz Bynum enjoyed the benefits of being “bendy”. Later, she experienced more than her fair share of injuries but it wasn’t clear how these could be connected. A diagnosis of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syn...

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Oct. 20, 2022

54. Managing Mast Cell Pain with Linda Bluestein, MD

Mast cell disorders are prevalent in the hypermobile population, but can often go undiagnosed. Persistent pain can be initiated and perpetuated by mast cells, which have also been referred to as “gatekeepers of pain”. How c...

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Oct. 20, 2022

53. Creating a New Hypermobility Screening Tool with Aiko Callahan, D…

In this Bendy Bodies podcast episode, we discuss a new hypermobility screening tool with guests, Aiko Callahan, DPT, and Stephanie Greenspan, DPT. Hypermobility is far more prevalent in dancers, circus performers and other ae...

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Sept. 22, 2022

52. Unlocking Jaw Pain with Leslie Russek, DPT, PhD

In this Bendy Bodies podcast episode, we discuss jaw pain in EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes) and hypermobility with guest, Leslie Russek, DPT, PhD. Jaw pain affects a relatively large percentage of the general population, but i...

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Sept. 8, 2022

51. Moving Fearlessly with Jeannie DiBon

In this Bendy Bodies podcast episode, we discuss moving with EDS hypermobility & laxity with guest, Jeannie DiBon. Hypermobile athletes and artists are often excellent movers - until they hit “the wall”. Sometimes you hit a p...

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