Does a hypermobility score of 9/9 mean you are more severely affected?

Hannah Ensor
Feb 28
1 min read

Some doctors will give tell their patients their hypermobility 'score'. Does a hypermobility score of 9/9 mean you are more severely affected?

does a high score mean more severely affected? Infographic 1/4: Does a score of 9/9 for hypermobility mean I’m more severely affected? In short, no. People can score high and be mildly affected, or score low, and be severely affected…

does a high score mean more severely affected? Infographic 2/3: The 9 point Beighton score that is sometimes used to screen for hypermobility only covers 9 joints (The spine, and both elbows, knees, thumbs and little fingers) out of over 300 joints, and only looks for flexibility in a single direction. It’s a shortcut tool that can give a quick definite yes for some people, but cannot rule hypermobility out.

does a high score mean more severely affected? Infographic 3/3: If someone is suspected of being hypermobile, but scores low, then other joints and directions of movement should be considered before ruling hypermobility out. Common problem areas not covered include the shoulders, hips, ankles, and feet.
In addition, many hypermobile people have muscle tightness or injuries that mean joints don’t bend as far as they used to - reducing the score, but not usually solving the hypermobility related problems. Check out our website for more information! Hypermobility.org

4 Comments

Olivia Rose

May 08

A hypermobility score of 9/9 means you meet the full criteria, but it doesn’t always mean you’re more severely affected — symptoms can vary widely. Just like finding the right women glasses for sale, it’s important to look beyond the numbers and focus on what fits your individual needs.

Olivia Rose

Apr 28

A hypermobility score of 9/9 indicates very flexible joints, which can mean a higher risk for related issues—kind of like finding harps for sale and realizing not all instruments (or joints) are built the same.

jani jan

Apr 12

A hypermobility score of 9/9 suggests extreme joint flexibility, similar to accessing every corner of the GTA 5 map—it shows full range, but not severity of symptoms. Like exploring Los Santos fully doesn’t mean danger, high scores don’t confirm severity without considering pain, instability, or functional impact across “zones.”

Nic Sharpe

Feb 28

Yep an interesting topic of conversation.

These scores do not take into account a persons occupation either. For example a professional dancer and yoga teacher would expect to score highly due to their lengthy training yet not all suffer a debilitating and disabling hypermobility spectrum disorder.

Instability is not the same as flexibility and some unstable joints are hypermobile in some directions as you suggest but not others due to impingemnt etc. I agree.

It is too simplistic a method to use alone without a thorough examination and life history of health involving internal organs, hernias, bruising etc and wider family dynamics. So much of this is self examined without a fair care pathway for us.

A great frustration that…