Physician Referrals

Learn how to get a referral to a medical doctor on our team.

Never had a formal diagnosis of a hypermobile disorder? Learn how to get a referral to a Medical Doctor. Physicians may request a referral via the button below:

referral questionnaire for Physicians 

Fill out our questionnaire for a quick way to see if your case may meet our criteria for a physician referral.



Medical Doctor Referral

A focused assessment by a Medical Doctor or similarly qualified Physician will be provided if all criteria are met:

  • This pathway is only for patients who have never had a formal diagnosis of a hypermobile disorder

  • You must have a primary care provider

  • Referral from a Medical Doctor or Nurse Practitioner is Required

What you recieve:

Letter indicating whether you meet diagnostic criteria for a hypermobile disorder

Management Suggestions to your referring practitioner

You can self-refer to participate in Our Services. A follow-up Medical Doctor visit is not scheduled

Referral Criteria for Physicians

We understand the role of a medical / physician referral to our clinic may take some time to understand and appreciate your consideration.

Hypermobility Canada does not have the capacity to see all cases with generalized issues or all issues related to hypermobility at this time.  Medical referrals are triaged for medically necessary purposes.  Examples of indications that we see include patients having medical decompensation during pregnancy, patients that need a formal diagnosis to make decisions on surgeries, patients with recurrent hospitalizations due to their symptoms, patients with clear signs of deterioration of physical health, patients with clear evidence for a non-hEDS or non-HSD syndrome and other medically necessary issues.  The medical consultation only deals with the specific medical issues identified in the referral – it is not a general assessment of all issues related to hypermobility.  We are not a general medical clinic.

  • For patients who are looking for general guidance on whether they have signs and symptoms of hypermobility, they can consider a self-referral for a Core Assessment, to see an Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist.

  • All medical referrals must come with sufficient information, sufficient history and physical examination, and a specific indication for a medical referral to be considered.  Further information on referral requirements to Hypermobility Canada can be found below.

  • You may find alternative clinics at the directory linked here.

  • Patients with hEDS or HSD are not eligible for genetic testing in Alberta because there is no gene associated with either of these conditions
  • Most cases of hEDS or HSD do not require genetic testing
  • Genetic testing is not ordered simply to “rule out vascular causes” – there must be an indication for testing on the medical history or physical exam

  • There is no cure for hEDS/HSD but targeted management is often helpful
  • Patients may benefit from symptomatic care through physiotherapy, occupational therapy and other services
  • Managing mental health and anxiety is important since these can impact general health, make autonomic symptoms worse, and in some cases issues with mast cell activation or hypermobility worse
  • Patient symptoms direct the management in most cases because there are limitations to diagnostic testing for various reasons and response to treatment itself is sometimes helpful in understanding whether the symptoms related to hEDS/HSD, Dysautonomia or MCAS

  • Dysautonomia (such as POTS or OH) frequently occur in patients with hypermobility
  • We are not a primary autonomic function clinic
  • While we do have tilt table testing, patients can decompensate with tilt table testing and there are risks to tilt table testing – therefore, we only offer tilt table testing to existing patients that have had a Core Assessment so that we are familiar with the patient; know their medication history and we have had a chance to know the patient and why a tilt table may be helpful; we do not directly accept referrals for tilt table testing who are not our patients
  • Guidelines on the diagnosis of POTS can be found in CMAJ (Raj et al, Can J Cardiol 2020(3):357-372 )

  • We are not a primary Immune Function clinic
  • There are many articles on how MCAS is diagnosed; for example Valent et al Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 9030; doi:10.3390/ijms21239030
  • In addition to multi-organ involvement of mast cell symptoms over a period of time, a formal diagnosis invariably requires biochemical evidence of mast cell dysfunction such as i) an increase of serum tryptase by at least 20% above baseline + 2 ng/ml during a reaction and/or an ii) increase in blood histamine / leukotriene metabolites / prostaglandins
  • Biochemical testing to formalize a diagnosis of MCAS is most sensitive during during a decompensation event – based on our research, the approach we have developed is to have the patient come in for bloodwork within 3-5 hours of an event, we send public testing samples to APL and private testing samples to Mayo clinic (there is a cost associated with private samples) – since this is the main service we provide for MCAS diagnostics, if you are sending a referral for testing, you must indicate that you have had a discussion about this process with the patient and the patient is aware that there is a cost associated with the testing

  • We are not a GI clinic, currently do not have the capacity to manage feeding tubes or enteral nutrition
  • For patients with gastrointestinal symptoms that may be related to MCAS, if any intestinal biopsies are performed, you can ask if pathology will do CD25 and CD117 staining for mast cells

  • Some patients with hypermobility may experience cervical instability
  • the initial suspicion is typically based on symptoms such as: headache, neck pain, the sensation of head bobbling, increased heart rate, brain fog and memory issues, dizziness, visual tracking issues and tunnel vision
  • Imaging and/or physiotherapy are the typical starting points to look at spinal instability

The approach we have found most helpful in majority of patients is to teach them how to adapt to their symptoms, have a toolbox of things that help with relief, and self-management of symptoms over time. This route typically starts in our program with a Core Assessment and guided programs through our allied health providers rather than doctor-prescribed interventions.  Medical referrals are accepted only for specific medical reasons within our scope of practice. Additional learning resources and / or group learning events may be posted from time to time on our website.