Thanks to EDS Alert Newsletter, I learned that a Swiss doctor is speculating that Michael Jackson may have had Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. And if you don't read French, you can read the article in mangled English, thanks to the power of Google Translate.
What do I think of it? Well, not much. I'm not big on following celebrities, so I have no idea if his symptoms really do match up with EDS. But even the speculation is helpful, I think. So few doctors have any clue at all regarding EDS. If a few of them read this article and start taking joint hypermobility seriously, then I will feel that something good has come from the circus that has arisen in the wake of Jackson's death.
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Sometimes I have something to say, and here is where I say it. Lots of talk about disability, Ehlers Danlos syndrome, general geekiness, family and friends, and whatever shiny captures my attention at the moment.
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5 comments:
tres interessant!
Maybe that explains why I got a hit on a search for "Michael Jackson Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome" on my blog recently...
Personally I think it is a load of bollocks. He *was* a good dancer, but his ROM looked like a normal dancer's range to me. However it is interessant bollocks, -particularly if it helps to raise awareness abotu EDS (or do I call it SED now? :P )
OMS ...no SOM... fuckit! I'm confused...
Very interesting/surprising. He definitely had some physical health problems.
OSM, er, SOM, er, MOS, er, whachername, that does make sense about the search hit. (Heh. I know that there must be tons of bloggers scratching their heads over some of my search terms. I can only hope they are amused.) I really don't know what is supposed to be normal ROM for a dancer, what with so many people with hypermobility being routinely scouted as dancers when very young. And then being disabled pretty early in life, too. So, I don't know. Maybe MJ had some sort of connective tissue disorder. But I don't see how even heavy duty narcotics could make up for the dysfunction that creeps in. How could he have EDS and still be able to dance at 50? I am 50 and no amount of painkiller will make up for the fact that my ligaments are so stretched out that I have to force my thighs to pick up my knees. And I am considered lightly affected and haven't particularly abused my joints. But, of course, we are all affected differently. And, like I said, what is useful in this context is that there is talk about EDS at all, and that maybe some good will come of it.
Frida, that is pretty much my reaction. Interesting. Surprising. Maybe?
Yanub,
Well, by normal dancer's ROM, I mean can do things like the splits and straight-legged high kicks(which he didn't do, that I know).
If I was looking for hypermobility, I would look to see if elbows and knees go much past straight, which I haven't seen in him. I would also look for hypermobility of ankles and wrists/hands, which I have not really seen in him either. And trust me: I spot this stuff.
As far as I can tell in this article the only 'evidence' of EDS presented was the ankle dorsiflexion shown in that video (which the other dancers were doing, too) I don't know what is "normal" dorsiflexion, but I know my ankles flex more than that. I also know that there are a lot of tricks used in video and photographs...
I still think it's bollocks, but I'm glad we're talking about it.
OSM
I take your word for it, OSM. I may be the only person on earth with regular access to modern communications devices who never watched more than maybe thirty minutes all together of MJ dancing, and that spread out over the course of my life. Regardless, you and I are on the same wavelength on this speculation.
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