Double Jointed: What It Really Means, How to Test It, and When It Matters

Bending your thumb back to touch your forearm, locking your elbows backward or folding your fingers into odd shapes is a classic party trick. People call it being “double jointed”. The name is wrong, though: nobody has extra joints. What these people have is joints that move further than average, which doctors call joint hypermobility.

For most people it is harmless, and for dancers, gymnasts and musicians it can even help. For a smaller group it comes with pain, sprains or dislocations, and sometimes a wider condition. This guide explains what double jointed really means, how doctors measure it, how common it is, and the signs that it is worth getting checked.

Quick Answer

Being double jointed means having joints that move beyond the usual range, because the ligaments and other connective tissue holding them together are looser or stretchier than average. You do not have extra joints. It can affect a few joints, such as the fingers, thumbs, elbows or knees, or many joints at once (generalized joint hypermobility), which doctors score on the 9-point Beighton scale. It is most common in children and young people, and becomes less common with age. Most double-jointed people have no problems. See a doctor if you have frequent joint pain, sprains or dislocations, very stretchy or fragile skin, or fainting or a racing heart on standing, as these can point to hypermobility spectrum disorder or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Strength and balance training is the main treatment.

In this guide:

• What Does Double Jointed Mean?
• Are You Double Jointed? The Beighton Test
• How Common Is It?
• Is Being Double Jointed a Problem?
• Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder and Hypermobile EDS
• What Helps
• When to See a Doctor
• The Verdict

What Does Double Jointed Mean?

A joint’s range of movement is set by the shape of the bones, the muscles around it, and the ligaments and joint capsule that hold it together. These are made largely of collagen. When that connective tissue is more elastic than usual, the joint can move further before it stops, and that is what people notice as being double jointed.

Doctors use a few terms:

• Localized joint hypermobility: only one or a few joints, such as double-jointed fingers or thumbs. Very common, and often from repeated stretching in a sport or instrument.
• Generalized joint hypermobility: many joints on both sides of the body. Often runs in families.
• Symptomatic hypermobility: hypermobile joints that also cause pain, instability or injuries. This is when a diagnosis such as hypermobility spectrum disorder comes in.

Are You Double Jointed? The Beighton Test

The standard check is the Beighton score, nine simple movements scored one point each. A systematic review of 24 studies found it reliable between different examiners, including students and less experienced raters. You can try it at home, but a doctor or physiotherapist will measure the angles properly.

What counts as a high score depends on age, because flexibility falls as you get older. A 2026 meta-analysis of 46 studies and about 23,000 adults recommends these cut-offs for generalized joint hypermobility:

• Age 18 to 25: 6 or more out of 9
• Age 26 to 65: 5 or more out of 9
• Over 65: 4 or more out of 9

The older one-size cut-off of 4 labels too many people. In an Australian study of 1,000 people aged 3 to 101, using 4 for everyone gave a 60 percent false-positive rate. Children are naturally bendier still: in a Dutch study of 551 schoolchildren aged 6 to 12, more than 35 percent scored above 5 out of 9.

How Common Is It?

Depending on the cut-off and the group studied, numbers vary a lot:

• In the 2026 meta-analysis, about 2 percent of adults scored 6 or more, rising to 5 percent in young adults aged 18 to 25.
• Among 489 college students, 11 percent scored 4 or more.
• In the UK’s large ALSPAC study, 4.6 percent of 2,901 teenagers aged around 14 scored 6 or more.

In the Australian study, women and people of non-European descent had higher scores at every age, although the 2026 meta-analysis of adult studies found no clear difference between men and women. Hypermobility also tends to run in families, and regular stretching in dance, gymnastics, yoga or martial arts increases the range in the joints that are trained.

Is Being Double Jointed a Problem?

Usually not. Many people with very bendy joints never have trouble, and in a survey of 816 US university students, those with generalized or localized hypermobility did not report more sports injuries than their classmates. But looser joints rely more on muscles for stability, and the research does show some links:

• Joint pain in weight-bearing joints. In ALSPAC, hypermobile 14-year-olds were more likely to have troublesome pain at 18 in the shoulder, knee and ankle or foot, with odds about 1.7 to 1.8 times higher. For knee pain, the link was far stronger in teenagers with obesity, consistent with extra load on loose joints.
• Sprains, subluxations and dislocations. A joint that moves further can slip partly or fully out of place, most often the shoulder, kneecap or ankle.
• Anxiety. A meta-analysis of 14 studies with 3,957 people found those with symptomatic hypermobility had about 4 times the odds of anxiety and depression and nearly 7 times the odds of panic disorder. Most of these studies came from Mediterranean clinics, so the size of the link in the general population is less certain.
• Fatigue and pain affecting daily life. In a meta-analysis of 21 studies in adolescents and adults with hypermobility-related disorders, pain, fatigue and psychological distress were all closely tied to disability.

You may also read that hypermobility goes together with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and mast cell activation syndrome. Patients do report these together, but a 2020 review of the research found no proven shared cause and called the evidence for the “triad” weak. If you get dizzy, faint or have a racing heart when you stand, it is worth investigating in its own right.

Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder and Hypermobile EDS

When hypermobile joints cause ongoing symptoms, doctors use the 2017 international classification. It replaced the older label “joint hypermobility syndrome” with two diagnoses:

• Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS): generalized hypermobility plus other connective tissue features, such as soft, slightly stretchy skin, unusual scars or stretch marks, hernias or prolapse, often with a family history, and chronic pain or repeated dislocations. It is inherited, but unlike the other 12 types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, no gene test can confirm it, so it is diagnosed against a checklist after ruling out other conditions.
• Hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD): symptomatic hypermobility that does not meet all the criteria for hEDS. It is more common, and it is not a “milder” label in practice: symptoms can be just as troublesome.

A doctor will also look for rarer conditions that cause hypermobility and need specific care, including other types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Marfan syndrome, which can affect the heart valves and the aorta. Signs that suggest these include very fragile skin that splits or bruises easily, a tall slim build with long fingers, or a family history of early sudden death or aortic problems.

What Helps

If being double jointed causes you no symptoms, you do not need treatment. If it does, the approach is about making joints more stable and managing pain, not reducing flexibility:

• Strength training. Stronger muscles hold loose joints in place. Focus on control through the middle of the range rather than pushing to the end of it, and build up slowly. In a systematic review of six small randomized trials in hEDS, physiotherapy programs of 4 to 8 weeks improved pain or proprioception, the sense of where your joints are, and quality of life in every study. Why strength matters for long-term health in general is covered in what is physical fitness.
• Balance and proprioception work. Single-leg standing, balance boards and controlled slow movements train the body to protect joints that move further than average.
• Stop forcing joints to their limit. Locking your knees or elbows backward when you stand, sitting in a W position, or showing off finger tricks puts repeated stress on ligaments. Standing with knees slightly soft is easier on them.
• Keep a healthy weight. In the ALSPAC study, the link between hypermobility and knee pain was much stronger in teenagers with obesity.
• Look after the mind as well as the joints. Given the link with anxiety, and the way pain and distress feed into each other, psychological support can be part of good care. Practical steps are in how to reduce stress.
• Supportive aids when needed. Braces or taping for an unstable joint during sport, supportive footwear for flat feet, and splints for painful fingers when writing or typing.

When to See a Doctor

See a doctor or physiotherapist if you are double jointed and have:

• Joint pain lasting more than a few months, or pain in many joints
• Repeated sprains, or joints that slip out of place or dislocate
• Soft, very stretchy or fragile skin, easy bruising, or wounds that heal into wide, thin scars
• Dizziness, fainting or a racing heart when you stand up, or constant tiredness
• A family history of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome, aortic problems or sudden death at a young age

Get emergency help for a joint that is visibly out of place and does not go back, sudden severe chest or back pain, or numbness or weakness in a limb after an injury.

The Verdict

Being double jointed means your joints move further than average because your connective tissue is looser, not that you have extra joints. Doctors measure it with the 9-point Beighton score, with cut-offs that fall with age. It is common, especially in children and young adults, and for most people it never causes trouble. When it comes with ongoing pain, sprains, dislocations, fatigue or very stretchy skin, it is worth seeing a doctor about hypermobility spectrum disorder or hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and the best-supported treatment is targeted strength and balance training rather than more stretching.