International Journal of Science and Healthcare Research Vol.5; Issue: 4; Oct.-Dec. 2020 Website: ijshr.com Original Research Article ISSN: 2455-7587 International Journal of Science and Healthcare Research (www.ijshr.com) 96 Vol.5; Issue: 4; October-December 2020 Prevalence of Generalized and Selective Joint Hyper-Mobility in School Going Children of Age 6-12 Years of Central India Abhijeet Arun Deshmukh 1 , Priyesha Ramteke 2 1 Associate Professor, Department of Neuro-Physiotherapy, VSPM’s College of Physiotherapy, Digdoh Hills, Hingna, Nagpur. 2 Internee student, VSPM’s College of Physiotherapy, Digdoh Hills, Hingna, Nagpur . Corresponding Author: Abhijeet Arun Deshmukh ABSTRACT Introduction: Most individuals showing hyper- mobility are asymptomatic but many complications may arise as a result of hyper- mobile joints. Hyper-mobility may have a significant impact on quality of life of affected children and their parents, even in the milder forms. Joint hyper-mobility is common in childhood. To date, prevalence study has not yet been conducted in central India. Material and Methods: A cross sectional observational study was performed in 1,006 asymptomatic typically developing 6-to-12 year’s school going children (569 boys and 437 girls). Children were included from four local schools of city which was selected by random number table method out of total 244 schools by convenient sampling. All the children from each class were screened and assessed on the basis of Beighton’s score. They were classified as generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) if they scored≥4/9 and as selective joint hyper-mobility (SJH) if they scored 1-3/ 9 and score 0 as no joint hyper-mobility. Data analysis and Results: Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel Sheet version 2009 to calculate the mean and standard deviation of the demographic data and prevalence of GJH and SJH was calculated in percentage. The prevalence of JH in 6-12 years children was 78.32%(788/1006) (Beighton’s score 1-to-9). The prevalence of GJH (Beighton score ≥4/9) was 34.49%(347/1006) and SJH (Beighton’s score 1-3) was 43.83% (441/1006). Conclusion: Prevalence of JH in 6-to-12 years children is very high (78.32 %) including GJH- 34.49 % and SJH- 43.83 % in central India. GJH was common in girls whereas SJH was common in boys. Key words: Joint Range, Children, Prevalence, Goniometer, Beighton’s Score, Hypermobility INTRODUCTION Generalized joint hyper-mobility (GJH) is defined as an increase in mean joint range of motion more than normal. [1-3] Joint hyper-mobility is classified as localized or selective (increased range of motion of a single joint) and generalized (increased range of motion of more than 4 joints). [3] It is generally accepted that this phenomenon runs in families and tends to be dominantly inherited. [4] The genetic causes of joint hyper-mobility includes Ehler-Danlos syndromes [5] , some types of osteogenesis imperfecta including types 1 and 4, Marfan’s syndrome and related disorders. [4,6,7] It is assumed that GJH is an expression of laxity of connective tissue, due to genetic alterations in elastic fibers and thus affecting the structural integrity of connective tissue throughout the body. [2] Some individuals, who show hyper- mobility, take advantage of the condition and perform well in sports like gymnastics, martial arts and dancing. [2] Though, most individuals showing hyper-mobility are asymptomatic [2,8] , many complications may arise as a result of hyper-mobile joints. It has been suggested that hyper-mobile individuals are prone to orthopaedic