Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Joint hypermobility
Double-Jointed
HP:0001382
What it means
The capability that a joint (or a group of joints) has to move, passively and/or actively, beyond normal limits along physiological axes.
Synonyms of joint hypermobility (JH) include joint laxity and double-jointedness. In general terms, joint hyperlaxity is often considered a further synonym of JH. JH may be caused by a number of factors including intraarticular disease and injury or slacking of extraarticular structures such as joint capsules, ligaments, and muscles. Establishing whether a joint is hypermobile or not is a relatively easy task and it is carried out by (i) using professional tools, such as the orthopedic goniometer; (ii) following specific procedures; and (iii) comparing the measured range of motion (ROM) with normal parameters. When JH is observed at one or a few types of joints (usually fewer than five) it may be defined as localized joint hypermobility (LJH). Typically, LJH affects a single small or large joint and may be bilateral (e.g., bilateral genu recurvatum due to knee hyperextensibility). LJH may be inherited, but it may be an acquired trait related to, for example, past trauma, joint disease, surgery, or training (e.g., spine hypermobility). In individuals with JH at multiple sites (usually five or more), the term generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) is preferred.
Rare diseases that can present with this250
Very common80–99%
60- 15q overgrowth syndrome
- Acrogeria
- ALDH18A1-related De Barsy syndrome
- Autosomal recessive cutis laxa type 2A
- Autosomal recessive faciodigitogenital syndrome
- B3GALT6-related spondylodysplastic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Brittle cornea syndrome
- Cardiac-valvular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Classical-like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type 2
- Coffin-Lowry syndrome
- Congenital muscular dystrophy-respiratory failure-skin abnormalities-joint hyperlaxity syndrome
- Dermatosparaxis Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Desbuquois syndrome
- Distal deletion 19p syndrome
- Down syndrome
- Dysmorphism-pectus carinatum-joint laxity syndrome
- Ear-patella-short stature syndrome
- Familial articular hypermobility syndrome
- Fragile X syndrome
- Fryns-Smeets-Thiry syndrome
- GAPO syndrome
- Geroderma osteodysplastica
- Giant axonal neuropathy
- Global developmental delay-osteopenia-ectodermal defect syndrome
- Grant syndrome
- Hydrocephaly-tall stature-joint laxity syndrome
- Inverted duplicated chromosome 15 syndrome
- Kyphoscoliotic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome due to FKBP22 deficiency
- Kyphoscoliotic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome due to lysyl hydroxylase 1 deficiency
- Larsen syndrome
- Lenz-Majewski hyperostotic dysplasia
- Marfanoid habitus-autosomal recessive intellectual disability syndrome
- Marshall-Smith syndrome
- Menkes disease
- Mucopolysaccharidosis type 4
- Myopathic Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Night blindness-skeletal anomalies-dysmorphism syndrome
- Non-distal duplication 10q syndrome
- Noonan syndrome
- Occipital horn syndrome
- Odontochondrodysplasia
- Pallister-Killian syndrome
- Pili torti-developmental delay-neurological abnormalities syndrome
- Pseudoachondroplasia
- Renal tubular dysgenesis
- RIN2 syndrome
- Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome
- Severe oculo-renal-cerebellar syndrome
- Short stature-valvular heart disease-characteristic facies syndrome
- SHORT syndrome
- Sialuria
- Spinocerebellar ataxia-dysmorphism syndrome
- Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, aggrecan type
- Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia with joint laxity, leptodactylic type
- Temple syndrome due to paternal 14q32.2 hypomethylation
- Thanatophoric dysplasia type 2
- Thoracomelic dysplasia
- Trisomy 20p syndrome
- White forelock with malformations
- X-linked Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Common30–79%
20- 14q24.1q24.3microdeletion syndrome
- 15q24microdeletion syndrome
- 16p13.11microduplication syndrome
- 2q37microdeletion syndrome
- 3M syndrome
- 48,XXXY syndrome
- 48,XXYY syndrome
- 49,XXXXY syndrome
- 6q terminal deletion syndrome
- 8q24.3microdeletion syndrome
- Aarskog-Scott syndrome
- Acromesomelic dysplasia, Maroteaux type
- AHDC1-related intellectual disability-obstructive sleep apnea-mild dysmorphism syndrome
- Arterial tortuosity syndrome
- Autosomal dominant cutis laxa
- Autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome due to STAT3 deficiency
- Autosomal recessive cutis laxa type 1
- Autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia type 20
- Autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia type 53
- Autosomal recessive Stickler syndrome
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Extensible joints · Flexible joints · Hyperextensible joints · Increased joint mobility · Increased mobility of joints · Joint hyperextensibility · Joint hyperflexibility · Joint hyperlaxity
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.