On the most recent episode of Bendy Bodies with cohost Jennifer Milner, Dr. Moira McCormack shares an important reminder about life after performing: Teaching dance is its own skill set. Many professional dancers spend years mastering technique, artistry, discipline, and performance. But teaching requires something different. It requires learning how…
Many hypermobile dancers spend years hiding symptoms. Not because they're injured. Not because they're weak. But because they're afraid of being seen as difficult. On the most recent episode of Bendy Bodies, dance medicine experts Jennifer Milner and Dr. Moira McCormack discuss a challenge many hypermobile dancers face long before…
When I started Bendy Bodies in 2020, I never could have imagined where this journey would lead. What began as a passion project to help educate and empower people living with hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, POTS, MCAS, and related conditions has grown into a community that has touched lives around the…
In this special milestone episode, Dr. Linda Bluestein reunites with her original co-host, dance medicine specialist Jennifer Milner, and the very first guest ever featured on the podcast, Dr. Moira McCormack. Long before hypermobility became a topic of widespread discussion, Dr. McCormack was asking important questions. A former Royal Ballet…
On the latest episode of @bendy_bodies, Dr. Gregory Plotnikoff explains why a conversation about vitamin D should often include two other key nutrients: Magnesium and vitamin K. Magnesium is a critical cofactor for vitamin D, meaning it helps the body actually use vitamin D properly. Vitamin K is also part…
Six women developed chronic pain after moving to a new country. One was even evaluated for cancer. On the most recent episode of @bendy_bodies, Dr. Gregory Plotnikoff shared the story of six women who moved from India to London and developed unexplained musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, weakness, and declining health. One…
On today’s episode of @bendy_bodies, I spoke with Dr. Gregory Plotnikoff alongside Dr. Dacre Knight of @UVAHealth about the critical role vitamin D plays in muscle function, bone health, tendon health, recovery, and overall performance. Dr. Plotnikoff explains why vitamin D deficiency is often overlooked, especially in artists, athletes, performers,…
Could one of the most overlooked drivers of chronic pain, fatigue, poor sleep, and slow recovery be hiding in plain sight? In this episode, Dr. Linda Bluestein and co-host Dr. Dacre Knight sit down with integrative medicine pioneer Dr. Gregory Plotnikoff to unpack why Vitamin D may be one of…
Swelling management for lipedema and lymphatic disorders is often far more complex than people realize. On the most recent episode of @bendy_bodies, I spoke with Kasi Grosvenor and Jesse Cochrane from the Lipedema Foundation about pneumatic compression pumps and how these devices may help support lymphatic fluid movement in some…
That misconception keeps many people from recognizing their symptoms or seeking proper evaluation. On the most recent episode of @bendy_bodies, I spoke with Kasi Grosvenor and Jesse Cochrane from the Lipedema Foundation about one of the biggest misunderstandings surrounding Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS): many people with POTS never actually…
Doja Cat talking publicly about lipedema running in her family matters. Because for so many people, lipedema is still dismissed as “just weight gain.” And that assumption can delay diagnosis for years. Lipedema is not simply “extra weight.” It is a painful, often progressive fat and connective tissue disorder that…
In this episode of Bendy Bodies, I sit down with Kasi Grosvenor and Jesse Cochrane from the Lipedema Foundation to pull back the curtain on one of the most misdiagnosed and misunderstood conditions in women's health. Kasi spent decades fainting, being dismissed, and searching for answers before finally finding clarity…
Some patients are not “picky eaters.” They are slowly starving because their bodies can no longer tolerate enough nutrition. This is one of the most serious and heartbreaking realities we need to talk about more. On the most recent episode of Bendy Bodies, Dr. Dacre Knight, Medical Director of the…
I tore a small muscle in my quad while playing pickleball… and what happened next surprised me. On the most recent episode of Bendy Bodies, I shared how the quad injury itself healed quite quickly, but suddenly all these other pains in my body became much louder. My shoulders hurt…
“Many hypermobile patients are injured by the very treatment meant to help them.” And for some of us, the first person who finally connects the dots is not a physician. It was my physical therapist who first told me I was hypermobile. On today’s episode of @bendy_bodies, Dr. Dacre Knight…
Most people with EDS or HSD have been told to "exercise more," "eat better," and "sleep on a schedule," usually by someone who has never tried to do any of those things in a hypermobile, pain-flaring, dysautonomic body. This episode is different. Dr. Linda Bluestein and Dr. Dacre Knight break…
Joint pain often changes during menopause. And estrogen may be part of the reason why. On a recent episode of Bendy Bodies, Duke orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein discussed how declining estrogen levels may increase inflammation, contribute to cartilage breakdown, and potentially accelerate arthritis progression. Research also suggests estrogen plays…
“There really is no evidence that stem cell therapy is superior.” On a recent episode of Bendy Bodies, Duke orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein discussed what current research actually shows about PRP, “stem cell therapy” (typically bone marrow concentrate/BMC), arthritis, and joint pain. While there is reasonable evidence that PRP…
"We can't do surgery." For hypermobile and EDS patients, those words can feel like abandonment. They are often the opposite. On today's episode of Bendy Bodies, I sat down with Duke orthopedic surgeon Jocelyn Wittstein, M.D. to talk about one of the most misunderstood decisions in hypermobility and connective tissue…
What if being too flexible is exactly what makes surgery fail? And what if your doctor thinks your shoulder is fine because you can lift your arm to 90 degrees, not realizing that for you, 90 degrees might as well be a frozen joint? In this episode, Dr. Linda Bluestein…
"Your imaging is normal. So where is this pain coming from?" If you've been asked that question like it was an accusation, this is for you. On Bendy Bodies, I sat down with Dr. Dacre Knight of UVA Health to dismantle one of medicine's most persistent and harmful myths. Pain…
"Your POTS is psychological." If you've heard this, you are not alone. And you deserve better than that dismissal. On Bendy Bodies, I sat down with Dr. Dacre Knight of UVA Health to unpack a study showing heart rate increases BEFORE tilt table testing in some POTS patients. Some clinicians…
On today’s episode of @bendy_bodies, I spoke with Dr. Dacre Knight of UVA Health about how medicine often defines severity by immediate mortality risk. Yes, vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and other rare types can be life-threatening. But that does not mean hypermobile EDS and HSD are not serious. These more…
In this "MythBusters" edition of the Bendy Bodies Podcast, Dr. Linda Bluestein and recurring co-host Dr. Dacre Knight tackle the persistent misconceptions surrounding Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), and their frequent companions, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS).. Dr. Knight, Medical Director of…