That's because the Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) tend to affect people who are exceptionally flexible: gymnasts, dancers, contortionists. The disorders weaken the body's connective tissue, which means that most people with Ehlers-Danlos have highly elastic joints and stretchy skin.

Do contortionists have health problems?

Risks. A medical publication from 2008 suggests that long-term damage to the spine, called scoliosis, is common in long-term contortion practitioners. A study of five practitioners using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by Peoples et al. documented limbus vertebrae, intervertebral disc bulges, and disc degeneration.

Are contortionists Hypermobile?

In short: yes they can. Double-jointedness, or joint hyperlaxity/hypermobility as it is correctly called, is in fact a medical condition that is thought to affect around 3% of the population.