Beighton Score Calculator — Joint Hypermobility Screening
Answer 9 yes/no questions about passive joint movements to calculate your Beighton score. A score of 5 or more out of 9 indicates generalised joint hypermobility in adults.
Passive dorsiflexion of 5th finger ≥ 90° — LEFT hand
Passive dorsiflexion of 5th finger ≥ 90° — RIGHT hand
Passive apposition of thumb to forearm — LEFT
Passive apposition of thumb to forearm — RIGHT
Hyperextension of elbow > 10° — LEFT
Hyperextension of elbow > 10° — RIGHT
Hyperextension of knee > 10° — LEFT
Hyperextension of knee > 10° — RIGHT
Forward trunk flexion, knees straight, palms flat on floor
Out of 9 possible points
- 1
Bilateral criteria (8 tests)
0Four bilateral pairs: little-finger dorsiflexion, thumb apposition, elbow and knee hyperextension. - 2
Trunk criterion (palms flat on floor)
0 - 3
Beighton Score
0 + 0 = 0
How does this calculator work?
The Beighton score sums nine passive joint tests (each worth 1 point): little-finger dorsiflexion, thumb-to-forearm apposition, elbow hyperextension, knee hyperextension (all bilateral), and touching palms flat on the floor. Score ≥ 5/9 indicates generalised joint hypermobility in adults; clinical diagnosis requires professional assessment.
Formula
How this is calculated
The Beighton score is a 9-point clinical screening tool developed in 1973 to assess generalised joint hypermobility (GJH). It tests five manoeuvres: passive dorsiflexion of the 5th finger ≥ 90° (1 point each side), passive apposition of the thumb to the forearm (1 point each side), hyperextension of the elbow beyond 10° (1 point each side), hyperextension of the knee beyond 10° (1 point each side), and forward trunk flexion with knees straight and palms flat on the floor (1 point). Bilateral manoeuvres each contribute up to 2 points, giving a maximum of 9.
The 1998 Brighton Criteria (not to be confused with "Beighton") incorporated the Beighton score into formal hypermobility diagnosis: a score ≥ 4/9 is the threshold for adults. Some later guidelines use ≥ 5 for adults under 50 and ≥ 4 for those over 50 or postmenopausal women, reflecting that joint laxity decreases with age. This calculator highlights ≥ 5 as the primary threshold and flags ≥ 4 as borderline.
The Beighton score alone does not diagnose hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) or hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (hEDS). Those diagnoses require a clinician to assess additional criteria including joint pain, skin features and family history. Use this tool for educational awareness only.
Frequently asked questions
In adults under 50, a score of 5 or more out of 9 is the commonly cited threshold for generalised joint hypermobility. For adults over 50 some guidelines lower this to 4. Children and adolescents normally have higher scores, so age-specific charts are used for younger patients.
Not necessarily. Many hypermobile people — including gymnasts, dancers and yoga practitioners — are asymptomatic. The score becomes clinically relevant when joint laxity is accompanied by chronic pain, frequent dislocations or other symptoms. A high score without symptoms is sometimes called benign hypermobility.
Hypermobility (assessed by the Beighton score) is a physical finding — joints that move beyond the normal range. Hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is a connective tissue condition where hypermobility is one of several diagnostic criteria, including chronic pain, skin involvement and family history. A high Beighton score alone does not diagnose hEDS; a specialist assessment is required.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Beighton Score Calculator — Joint Hypermobility Screening [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/beighton-score-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Beighton Score Calculator — Joint Hypermobility Screening." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/beighton-score-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Beighton Score Calculator — Joint Hypermobility Screening," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/beighton-score-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_beighton_score_calculator, title = {Beighton Score Calculator — Joint Hypermobility Screening}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/beighton-score-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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