At first glance, ADHD and joint hypermobility might seem completely unrelated. One affects attention, impulse control and executive functioning; the other affects the body’s connective tissues and the stability and movement of joints.

Yet a growing body of research suggests there may be an important connection between the two.

What is joint hypermobility?
Joint hypermobility means that some or many joints move beyond the range typically expected. Some people are simply very flexible and experience no difficulties at all. For others, hypermobility can be associated with pain, repeated injuries, fatigue, poor coordination, digestive problems or symptoms of autonomic dysfunction.

More significant or symptomatic forms include Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD) and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS).

So, what is the link with ADHD?
Several studies have found higher rates of joint hypermobility in people with ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence One large adult study compared more than 400 adults with ADHD with a similar-sized control group and found a significant association between adult ADHD and generalised joint hypermobility.

Other research has approached the question from the opposite direction, looking at people with hypermobility conditions. These studies have also found higher-than-expected rates of ADHD.

For example, research involving children and young people with HSD or hEDS found notable rates of ADHD, particularly among older adolescents. Large population-based research has also reported increased rates of ADHD diagnoses among people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

This does not mean that everyone with ADHD is hypermobile, or that everyone who is hypermobile has ADHD. But the overlap appears sufficiently consistent to deserve attention.

Why might ADHD and hypermobility be connected?

This is where the research becomes particularly interesting — although it is important to say that the mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Researchers are exploring several possibilities:

Connective tissue differences

Connective tissue is found throughout the body, not simply around the joints. Differences in connective tissue may potentially have wider effects on multiple bodily systems.

The autonomic nervous system

Hypermobility has been associated with dysautonomia — difficulties in the system that automatically regulates functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and temperature. Conditions such as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) are frequently discussed in this context.

Proprioception and body awareness

Some hypermobile people have difficulty accurately sensing where their body is in space. This can contribute to clumsiness, coordination difficulties and the need to use more conscious effort to control movement.

Interoception
Interoception is our ability to notice and interpret internal bodily signals — hunger, thirst, pain, heartbeat, temperature or the need to use the bathroom. Differences in interoception are also increasingly discussed in relation to ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

Pain, fatigue and cognitive load
Living with pain, poor sleep, dizziness or fatigue can place additional demands on attention and executive functioning. Equally, ADHD may make it harder to pace activity, notice early bodily warning signs or maintain consistent self-care routines.

The wider picture: ADHD, hypermobility, POTS and fatigue

Perhaps one of the most interesting areas of current research is the apparent clustering of:

• ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence
• joint hypermobility
• dysautonomia and orthostatic intolerance
• chronic pain
• fatigue
• sleep difficulties
• gastrointestinal symptoms

Research in neurodivergent adults has found that joint hypermobility may be linked with greater symptoms of both dysautonomia and pain. More recent work is continuing to explore whether connective-tissue differences might help explain some of the overlap between neurodivergence, chronic pain and chronic fatigue.

We should be cautious here: this does not yet establish one single cause or pathway. The science is still developing, and not every study has found the same pattern.

Why does this matter?

For some people, it may help make sense of a lifetime of apparently disconnected experiences.

Someone may describe themselves as:

“bright but disorganised”

“always exhausted”

“very flexible”

“anxious”

“prone to fainting or dizziness”

“always injuring themselves”

“unable to sit comfortably”

“overly sensitive to bodily sensations”

“poor at noticing hunger, thirst or tiredness”

These experiences may have been treated as entirely separate problems. Emerging research suggests that, for at least some people, it may be worth considering whether there is a broader pattern.

This may be particularly relevant for women, whose ADHD has historically been more likely to go unrecognised and who may present to different professionals with fatigue, pain, dizziness, anxiety or unexplained physical symptoms before anyone considers neurodivergence.

A note of caution

The research is promising, but we should not get ahead of the evidence. An association is not the same as causation. Being hypermobile does not mean that someone has ADHD, and having ADHD does not mean that someone has a connective-tissue disorder. Hypermobility is also relatively common in the general population.

However, the growing evidence of overlap is important because it encourages professionals to look at the whole person rather than viewing psychological, neurological and physical symptoms in isolation.

For some individuals, recognising that these difficulties may be connected can be an important first step towards more appropriate assessment, support and understanding.

At Effective Psychology, we believe in looking beyond individual symptoms to understand the wider patterns that may be affecting a person’s wellbeing and daily life. If you think we may be able to support you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

References:

Glans, M.R., Thelin, N., Humble, M.B., Elwin, M. and Bejerot, S. (2021) ‘Association between adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and generalised joint hypermobility: A cross-sectional case control comparison’, Journal of Psychiatric Research, 143, pp. 334–340.

Kindgren, E., Quiñones Perez, A. and Knez, R. (2021) ‘Prevalence of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder in children with hypermobility spectrum disorders or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: A retrospective study’, Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 17, pp. 379–388.

Csecs, J.L.L., Iodice, V., Rae, C.L., Brooke, A., Simmons, R., Dowell, N.G., Prowse, F., Themelis, K., Critchley, H.D. and Eccles, J.A. (2022) ‘Joint hypermobility links neurodivergence to dysautonomia and pain’, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 786916.
This is a particularly useful paper for your article because it directly examines neurodivergent adults and reports links between joint hypermobility, orthostatic intolerance/dysautonomia and pain.