Carter and Wilkinson identified clinical features in children with increased joint mobility. The authors are from the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, in London.
Clinical findings:
(1) passive (abduction, bend backwards) apposition of the thumb to the flexor aspect of the forearm
(2) passive hyperextension of the fingers (at the metacarpophalangeal joint) so that they lie parallel with the extensor aspect of the forearm
(3) ability to hyperextend the elbow more than 10 degrees
(4) ability to hyperextend the knee more than 10 degrees
(5) an excessive range of passive dorsiflexion of the ankle and eversion of the foot
Persistent generalized joint laxity was diagnosed when >= 4 of the findings were present.
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