Made for Health | Medical Gaslighting | Lyme | Chronic Infections | Metabolic Syndrome | Insulin Resistance | Mystery Illness

What if many chronic, seemingly unrelated symptoms share a single hidden root?
In this Friday minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman explores how connective tissue health and generalized hypermobility quietly sit at the center of many chronic health struggles. From joint pain and early arthritis to gut dysfunction, autoimmune conditions, mast cell activation, anxiety, and even neurodivergence, hypermobility often explains what traditional medicine treats as separate problems.
This conversation reframes hypermobility not as a rare or fringe diagnosis, but as a common, underrecognized driver of complex symptoms, affecting an estimated 20 percent of the population. Dr. Hartman walks listeners through how loose connective tissue impacts joints, organs, nerves, and the nervous system, creating ripple effects throughout the body.
Rather than treating symptoms in isolation, this episode encourages patients and clinicians alike to step back, connect the dots, and ask a critical question that is too often overlooked.
Key Topics Covered
Why connective tissue may be the “one ring” linking many chronic conditions
The difference between generalized hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
How hypermobility accelerates joint wear, arthritis, and chronic pain
The connection between hypermobility and gut issues like IBS, dysbiosis, and food sensitivities
Why hypermobility is commonly associated with autoimmune disease
The role of mast cell activation and chemical sensitivities
Links between hypermobility, anxiety, nervous system activation, and panic
Why hypermobile individuals are far more likely to be neurodivergent
How heightened sensory awareness and intuition may relate to connective tissue and nervous system wiring
Why hypermobility is frequently missed, dismissed, or misdiagnosed in modern healthcare

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine
Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/
YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD
Mentioned in this episode:
Get Dr. Hartman's New Book - UnCURABLE
If you’ve been let down by the system, you’re not alone — and you’re not powerless.
Dr. Hartmans wrote UnCURABLE to help you take back control of your health and your hope.
Visit the link below ⬇️ to get your copy and start your transformation today.
Get the new book UnCURABLE

What if blindly following “standard of care” is sometimes the very thing that stands in the way of real healing?
In this segment of the UnCurable audiobook series, Dr. Aaron Hartman confronts one of the most dangerous myths in modern healthcare: the illusion that medicine is always right simply because it is “standard.”
Through a deeply personal family experience, this episode explores what happens when rigid medical protocols collide with parental instinct, lived experience, and individualized care. What began as a recommendation for a feeding tube quickly revealed how easily systems can overlook nuance, ignore context, and punish families who ask questions.
This reflection exposes the pressure parents face to comply, even when something feels wrong, and how saying no became a defining turning point in Anna’s healing journey. More broadly, it challenges listeners to reconsider blind obedience in healthcare and to reclaim their role as active participants in medical decision making.
This segment reinforces a core UnCurable truth: healing often begins when curiosity replaces compliance and foundations are prioritized over convenience.
Key Topics Covered
The danger of unquestioned “standard of care” in complex cases
Why medicine has a long history of blind spots and evolving truths
The feeding tube recommendation and the meaning behind “failure to thrive”
How chewing and swallowing support brain development, speech, and motor milestones
The emotional and systemic fallout of challenging a medical recommendation
How critical information, like condition specific growth charts, is often overlooked
Why families without medical training are especially vulnerable to pressure
The moment Dr. Aaron Hartman realized no one else would personalize Anna’s care
The shift from protocol driven medicine to individualized, root cause focused healing
Why foundations like nutrition, environment, movement, and support come first
The importance of asking better questions and trusting informed instincts

Therapies and Concepts Referenced
Neuromuscular stimulation (NMS)
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Nutrigenomics and SNP guided nutritional support
Personalized medicine versus one size fits all care
Foundational healing principles before advanced interventions

📖 About UnCurable
UnCurable blends memoir and medicine, weaving personal family experience with decades of clinical insight. It challenges conventional models of chronic illness and empowers patients to pursue healing through personalized, root cause focused care.
Discover the...

What if the symptoms you’ve been chasing for years aren’t random at all, but signs of a common and misunderstood connective tissue trait most doctors never explain?
In this episode, Dr. Aaron Hartman breaks down the often misunderstood difference between generalized hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). While EDS represents a severe and disabling connective tissue disorder, hypermobility itself is far more common and frequently overlooked in everyday medical care.
Dr. Hartman explains why many people with hypermobility struggle with chronic pain, fatigue, neurological symptoms, gut issues, and recurrent infections, yet never receive a clear explanation for their symptoms. He also explores why hypermobility can be both a risk factor and, in some cases, a biological advantage, especially in athletics, emotional intelligence, and coordination.
This episode offers practical education, prevention strategies, and early-intervention guidance for adults, parents, and clinicians seeking a deeper root-cause understanding of connective tissue health.
🔍 Key Topics Covered
The difference between Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and generalized hypermobility
Why EDS is rare, but hypermobility is far more common
How the Beighton score is used and where it falls short
Secondary diagnostic features of EDS, including joint dislocations and tissue fragility
Why hypermobility affects more than joints, including:
Nervous system regulation
Emotional processing and trauma sensitivity
Gut motility and digestion
Blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues
The connection between hypermobility and:
Chronic pain syndromes
Fatigue
Headaches
Mast cell activation
Tick-borne illness susceptibility, including Lyme disease
Why hypermobility can enhance athletic performance, coordination, and emotional intelligence
The role of environment, including mold exposure, in worsening symptoms
Why early awareness matters more than late diagnosis

About the Host
Dr. Aaron Hartman, MD is the founder of Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine and specializes in root-cause, systems-based care for complex and chronic conditions. His work focuses on the intersection of connective tissue health, nervous system regulation, nutrition, and environmental medicine.
Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional

What if the moment medicine calls something “incurable” is actually the moment real healing begins to be possible?
In this segment, Dr. Aaron Hartman begins a new audiobook based podcast series by sharing a powerful excerpt from UnCurable: From Hopeless Diagnosis to Defying All Odds. This deeply personal reflection introduces the life changing moment that reshaped his family, his faith, and ultimately his entire approach to medicine.
Through the story of adopting their daughter Anna, Dr. Hartman invites listeners into an intimate journey that exposes the limitations of conventional medical thinking and challenges the idea of “incurable” diagnosis. What began as a foster care decision became a turning point that forced him to question rigid medical protocols and search for answers beyond standard care.
This segment sets the emotional and philosophical foundation for the UnCurable series, offering hope, perspective, and a reminder that healing often begins when curiosity and individualized care replace resignation.
Key Topics Covered
The moment Dr. Hartman first met Anna and the severity of her early medical diagnoses
How early prognoses revealed critical blind spots within the healthcare system
The role of parental intuition, faith, and advocacy in challenging medical limitations
Why the word “incurable” often reflects system constraints rather than biological reality
How this experience transformed Dr. Hartman’s medical philosophy
Historical examples of medicine being proven wrong over time
The shift toward functional, personalized, and root cause driven care
The importance of questioning dogma while respecting science
Why real healing requires looking beyond standardized protocols
A message of hope for patients who feel dismissed or out of options

📖 About UnCurable
UnCurable blends memoir and medicine, weaving personal family experience with decades of clinical insight. It challenges conventional models of chronic illness and empowers patients to pursue healing through personalized, root-cause-focused care. The book chronicles how Dr. Aaron Hartman’s own daughter was labeled “incurable” and how that experience reshaped his entire approach to health, medicine, and healing. Amazon
Discover the book here: UnCurable: From Hopeless Diagnosis to Defying All Odds on Amazon
Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative &...

What if the flexibility that once felt like a strength is actually a hidden driver of pain, gut issues, and nervous system overload later in life?
In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman takes a deep dive into hypermobility, a commonly overlooked condition where connective tissues like joints, ligaments, and fascia are unusually loose. While hypermobility can offer advantages such as enhanced athletic performance, faster reaction times, and heightened nervous system awareness, it can also contribute to joint instability, chronic pain, digestive issues, anxiety, and increased injury risk over time.
Dr. Hartman explains why generalized hypermobility is far more common than most people realize and why it often goes undiagnosed as people age and become stiffer. He explores how connective tissue health influences nearly every system in the body, from digestion and hormones to the nervous system and musculoskeletal function. This episode introduces a holistic framework for understanding hypermobility and outlines practical nutritional, therapeutic, and lifestyle strategies to support connective tissue resilience and long-term health.
Key Topics Covered
What hypermobility is and how it differs from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Why hypermobility can act as both a performance advantage and a health vulnerability
The surprising prevalence of generalized hypermobility across children, college students, and adults
How loose connective tissues increase nervous system activation, alertness, and anxiety
Links between hypermobility and gut issues like constipation, diarrhea, and fermentation
Why many hypermobile individuals become stiffer and more injury-prone with age
The role of nutrition, especially vitamin C, trace minerals, and real food, in connective tissue strength
Why hypermobility is often missed in conventional and integrative medicine training
Subtle signs of connective tissue instability, including joint shifting, rib pain, and pregnancy-related complications
Therapeutic approaches including fascia work, nutritional support, and targeted physical therapies

About the Host
Dr. Aaron Hartman, MD is the founder of Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine and specializes in root-cause, systems-based care for complex and chronic conditions. His work focuses on the intersection of connective tissue health, nervous system regulation, nutrition, and environmental medicine.
Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine
💻 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/
YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD
Mentioned in this episode:
Get Dr. Hartman's New Book - UnCURABLE
If you’ve been let down by the system, you’re not alone — and you’re not powerless.
Dr. Hartmans wrote UnCURABLE to help you take back control of your health and your hope.
Visit the link...