Chill Relief: The Power of Cold Stones for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

(~3-minute read)

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a connective-tissue disorder marked by hyper mobility, fragile ligaments, and chronic, often debilitating pain. Many clients with EDS—particularly hypermobile types—experience relentless muscle spasms as their muscles try to compensate for unstable joints. It’s exhausting and life-altering.

While heat therapy is often a go-to for comfort, sometimes the real breakthrough comes from the unexpected—like swapping heat for cold.

The Science & Why It Works

Research and clinical experience suggest cold therapy can be a game-changer for conditions like EDS:

• Nerve calming: Cold numbs overactive pain receptors and reduces nerve conduction, which can “switch off” the brain’s pain alarms (ehlers-danlos.org).

• Anti-spasm effect: Cooling reduces muscle spindle activity, which helps overworked muscles—often compensating for ligament laxity—let go.

• Natural analgesia: Cryotherapy triggers endorphin release and reduces inflammatory mediators, creating a whole-body “calm” (en.wikipedia.org).

In EDS, where inflammation, dysautonomia, and pain sensitivity are common, cold can sometimes outperform heat in breaking the pain–spasm cycle (thesperoclinic.com).

Susie’s Breakthrough Case

One of our experienced student therapists, Susie, had been treating a client with EDS and polymyalgia for two years—always with heat. The client felt good after treatments, but relief typically lasted a couple of days.

This time, Susie started with cold stones on the feet.

“Immediately, the muscles just totally relaxed. No shaking, no pain. I worked up the whole body and she got off the table saying, ‘I can’t believe this.’ And she’s done three days of 200 km motorbike rides since—no pain.”

The change was so dramatic that Susie’s client has now been using small frozen packs at home for her neck and hands, reporting weeks of pain-free function—including no hand pain for the first time in years.

Beyond One Client: A Ripple Effect

Susie didn’t stop there. She applied the technique in different settings—factory workers with chronic neck and shoulder tension, clients with headaches, and even women experiencing menopausal hot flashes.

“I’m using more cold stones on suboccipitals, scalenes, and temporals. Clients love it. Even with collagen facial masks, the cold stones create an instant cooling, lifting effect.”

Her EDS client’s story has now reached a specialist clinic in Brisbane, where therapists were surprised at the results and are considering integrating cold stone work for their EDS patients.

Hot & Cold: A Therapist’s Balancing Act

• Heat: great for chronic stiffness, fascial release, and warming tissues pre-treatment.

• Cold: ideal for calming acute inflammation, muscle spasm, and overactive nerves.

• Combination: warm to prep, cold to finish—especially valuable for hypersensitive nervous systems.

The key? Stay curious and adapt to each client’s feedback. What works for one stage of their pain cycle may change in another.

Why This Matters

For many with EDS, pain management is about micro-victories—finding techniques that give them back control, even for a few hours or days. As Susie’s experience shows, cold stones aren’t just a comfort tool—they can be a life-changing switch that turns off pain in real time.

And for us as therapists, it’s a reminder that even after years in practice, small shifts in our toolkit can lead to the biggest transformations.