Bend it like Benedict?
SO, I think we were all a little shocked and perhaps a little weirded out by the small video which cropped up on YouTube after the Oscars.
When Benedict Cumberbatch revealed his party trick – his ridiculously bendy hands…
Given how far back he can pull his fingers, I would hazard a guess that our favourite actor is, indeed, hypermobile.
Hypermobility – or being double-jointed – means the joints extend farther than they should. This can cause problems, in particular joint and muscular pain, and in some extreme cases, easy dislocations of joints.
I am, what my doctor labels, a high-end hypermobile person, and so spotted that Ben was a member of the club straight away!
Of course we cannot say to what extent Benedict’s bendiness goes. However, in addition to his bendy hands, he has also had plantar fascitits (following Frankenstein), a common problem for people with flat feet (I also have this), which is in turn, related to hypermobility.
Here’s what he said in his interview with The Big Issue: “My wrists are turning into ankles, I’ve joints coming out of my f***ing hips. I’ve had problems with my neck, my voice has come and gone. I’ve had concussions, I’ve had cuts. I’ve got a thing in my left foot called plantar fasciitis, which means that the tendons ball up into a ball of agony.”
Ouch.
So, in order to see if you are as bendy as Ben, you can of course try and repeat his trick. You can also try using the official guide to hypermobility, the Beighton Score.
The Beighton score is calculated as follows:
Give yourself, one point if, while standing forward bending you can place your palms on the ground with legs straight. One point for each elbow that bends backwards, one point for each knee that bends backwards, one point if you can pull each thumb downwards to touch your forearm, and one point for each little finger, that bends backwards beyond 90 degrees.
Many people do not score more than two points, but if you have any more than four, then you would be classed as hypermobile.
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