Beighton score.
Record the nine-point Beighton joint hypermobility score in clinic.
Dr Aditya Aggarwal, MS (Ortho), PMC 45581, Aggarwal Clinic, Patiala
For clinicians and healthcare professionals. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
Beighton checks
Examiner-assessed. Tick each side that meets the check. Four checks are scored left and right; one is scored once.
Little finger: with the forearm resting flat and the elbow bent to 90°, the examiner can passively bend the knuckle (5th MCP) back beyond 90°.
Thumb: with the arm held forward and the palm facing down, the examiner can passively bring the thumb to touch the forearm.
Elbow: straightens past neutral by more than 10°.
Knee: standing with the knees locked, straightens past neutral by more than 10°.
Trunk: with the knees straight and feet together, the patient can bend forward and rest both palms flat on the floor.
Total
Beighton score
0/9
Choose an age band to compare with the threshold.
Generalised joint hypermobility is only one of three criteria for hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (2017). This score is not a diagnosis.
Source
Citation: Beighton P, Solomon L, Soskolne CL. Articular mobility in an African population. Ann Rheum Dis 1973;32(5):413-8. PMID 4751776; doi:10.1136/ard.32.5.413. Age-based cut-offs: Malfait F et al. The 2017 international classification of the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. Am J Med Genet C 2017. PMID 28306229; doi:10.1002/ajmg.c.31552. Cut-offs reproduced in Fairweather et al., Front Med 2025, Table 1. PMID 40880755; doi:10.3389/fmed.2025.1594796.