Does anybody know anything about being double jointed in the entire body?

Question

when i was a baby i walked very late and showed signs of muscle weakness. i was taken to a neurologist, who then diagnosed me as being double jointed in my entire body. there are other members of my extended family who have this as well. i honestly didn't even know i had this until i was about 12 years old when my mother told me. i am very flexible (i am also a dancer) and i do have a lot of muscle weakness (that i have since worked on through my dance training) i was a very clumsy child, and i do get injured often.

when i tell people i have this, they ask to see the cool things i can do, besides pulling my leg over my head there's nothing i do that you associate with double jointed people. i can't contort myself, i can't do anything cool with my fingers, and i can't bend my thumb to my wrist. people ask me about this all the time, and i honestly don't know much about it. does anybody else have this? or know anything about it? thanks so much!

Answer 1

Anatomically speaking there is no such thing as being double jointed.  Rather, this term has been substituted to describe hypermobility.  Hypermobility- Hyper-beyond, in excess..  Mobility-movement.  So the term hypermobility (incorrectly known as double jointed) refers to the ability of extending/flexing a body part beyond it's normal means of range.  Hope that clears things up.