How to Know if You’re Double Jointed

Author: Luba Lee / Source: wikiHow

In medical terms, double-jointedness is referred to as hypermobility, and it simply means that you have a greater range of motion in some or all of your joints than most people. To determine if you have hypermobility, try the Beighton test. While hypermobility isn’t a health problem in and of itself, it can lead to joint pain and puts you at an increased risk of injury.

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Exercises to stabilize your joints can reduce these risks.^[1]

1 Lift your pinky back further than 90 degrees. Rest your palm and forearm on a flat surface, bending your elbow at a 90-degree angle. Reach over with your other hand and lift your pinky finger back towards your body. If it goes further than 90 degrees, you have hypermobile fingers in that hand.^[2]
- Repeat the test with your other hand. Give yourself 1 point for each pinky that you are able to lift back further than 90 degrees – up to 2 points total for this part of the test.
2 Push your thumb back to touch your forearm. Hold your arm out straight in front of you so that your palm is facing down. Press your thumb towards your inner forearm with your other hand. If you can push it all the way back so that it touches your forearm, you have hypermobile thumbs.^[3]
- Repeat the test on your other thumb. You get 1 point for each thumb that can touch your inner forearm, up to 2 points total for this part of the test.
3 Open your elbow upwards more than 10 degrees. Hold your arms outstretched, even with your shoulders. Your palms should be facing upwards. Lower your wrist and forearm to open your elbow further so that it appears to bend backward. If the bend seems greater than 10 degrees, give yourself a point for each elbow.^[4]
- If you’re doing this by yourself, stand in front of a mirror. You also may find it easier to do one arm at a time rather than trying to assess both at once.
- This level of hypermobility can be difficult to measure on your own. If a physical therapist were conducting this test, they would likely use an instrument called a goniometer to measure the angle of your joints.
4 Extend your knees backward more than 10 degrees. Stand with your knees locked and extend them backward as far as you possibly can. If your knees extend further than 10 degrees backward, add 1 point for each side to your score.^[5]
- If you’re doing this by yourself, stand sideways in front of a full-length mirror and evaluate one side at a time.
- As with elbows, hypermobility in your knees can be difficult to assess on your own. Consider any extent to which you can bend your knees backward from the straight locked position to be an indication of hypermobility.
5 Bend at the waist and place your palms on the floor. Stand with your feet together and your knees straight. If you can bend from the waist and place your palms flat against the floor in front of your feet without bending your knees, you have a hypermobile spine.^[6]
- If you can do this with your knees locked straight, give yourself 1 point.
6 Total your points to find your Beighton hypermobility score. Add up the points from each of the joints tested. A score of 4 or greater indicates you have generalized hypermobility. In basic terms, this means many of your joints have a greater range of motion than what is considered normal.^[7]
- Even if you have a relatively low score, you may have hypermobility in other joints that aren’t evaluated in the Beighton test, such as the jaw, neck, shoulders, hips, ankles, and feet.^[8]
Tip: If you were able to do any of these things as a child or teenager, you are still considered to have hypermobility, even if you can’t do them now.

1 Evaluate the levels of pain and stiffness in your joints. If you have hypermobility, feeling pain or stiffness in your joints is extremely common. This is especially likely after physical exercise, and may also be more apparent in the evenings.^[9]
- If you feel joint pain after exercising, you may want to change the type of exercise you do. High-impact exercises are particularly hard on hypermobile joints. For example, if you run, you may want to switch to a lower-impact exercise, such as biking, and see if you notice a difference.
Tip: Warm baths and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen, can help ease joint pain and stiffness.
2 Review your medical history for joint dislocations. If you’ve frequently experienced joint dislocations, such as a dislocated shoulder, this may be a symptom of hypermobility syndrome. Recurring soft-tissue injuries, such as sprains or ligament tears, may also signal that you have hypermobility syndrome.^[10]
- The types of injuries you’ve experienced also depend on the type of activities you’ve done. For example, if you play soccer, recurring knee injuries may not necessarily be a sign of…