#beighton scale

[Visual description: Aster, a small-fat Afro-Indigenous nonbinary femme with light brown skin and curly dark brown hair, demonstrates the beighton scale. The text reads,

"Hi all! Happy Autism Acceptance/Awareness Month 🥰

Did you know that autistic people are much more likely to have hypermobility spectrum disorders?

The Beighton scale is a tool used to assess

hypermobility. It is specifically part of

the hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) diagnostic criteria!

There are 9 different joints evaluated on

the Beighton scale. Each hyperextended

joint equals 1 point!

Let's go through the scale together!

For this part of the test, your pinky needs to bend backwards over 90°.

I am only doing my left pinky because my other hand is having a nerve pain flare right now. It only hyperextends past 90° some days anyways.

1/9 points

Thumb to wrist - one point for each hand

3/9 points

Each elbow needs to bend back more than 10°

5/9 points

Like with the elbows, each knee must bend back more than 10°

7/9 points

If you can put your palms flat on the floor

with straight knees, that's one point

8/9 points!

Let's recap -

1 point per pinky

1 point per wrist

1 point per elbow

1 point per knee

1 point if you can touch the floor with straight knees and hands flat

In order to qualify for the first portion of the hEDS criteria, post-pubertal patients must have reached 5/9 points (6/9 for pre-pubertal and 4/9 for adults over 50). That being said, there are several different congenital connective tissue disorders aside from hEDS/HSD. If you suspect a CTD,

Please do not hesitate to reach out for help. If your doctor dismisses you, it's okay to seek other opinions! You are your own best advocate and deserve both answers and adequate care 🫶🏽

End description.]

The hEDS criteria, alongside many other medical diagnostic tools, are heavily biased towards thin, yt men. All too often, people with various intersections are excluded from these discussions. I am smaller than I was the last time I demonstrated this scale for you all, but, regardless, I hope it helps someone! You do not have to be thin, tall, or white to have a connective tissue disorder!

#ChronicIllness #Disability #DisabilityAdvocacy #BeightonScale #BeightonScore #hEDS #HSD #ConnectiveTissueDisorder #JointHypermobility #JointHypermobilitySyndrome #EhlersDanlos