The Beighton Score as a Measure of Generalised Joint Hypermobility

Sabeeha Malek, Emma J Reinhold, Gemma Pearce

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    83 Citations (Scopus)
    272 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The Beighton Score (BS) is a set of manoeuvres in a nine-point scoring system, used as the standard method of assessment for Generalised Joint Hypermobility (GJH). It was originally developed as an epidemiological tool used in screening large populations for GJH, but later adopted as a clinical tool for diagnostic purposes. Its ability to truly reflect GJH remains controversial, as joints within the scoring system are predominantly of the upper limb and disregard many of the major joints, preventing a direct identification of GJH. Furthermore, a consistent finding in the literature whereby the BS failed to identify hypermobility in joints outside the scoring system suggests its use as an indirect indicator of GJH is also not viable. As such, the collective findings of this review demonstrate a need for a change in clinical thinking. The BS should not be used as the principle tool to differentiate between localised and generalised hypermobility, nor used alone to exclude the presence of GJH. Greater emphasis should be placed on a clinician’s judgement to identify or exclude GJH, according to its full definition.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1707-1716
    Number of pages10
    JournalRheumatology International
    Volume41
    Issue number10
    Early online date18 Mar 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2021

    Bibliographical note

    Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder

    Keywords

    • Beighton score
    • Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome
    • Generalised joint hypermobility
    • Joint hypermobility
    • Joint hypermobility syndrome
    • Range of motion
    • articular

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Rheumatology
    • Immunology and Allergy
    • Immunology

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