At your joints, your bones move around each other. The shape and size of the
joints and the flexibility of the muscles, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves,
affect how much movement can occur between two bones. The full amount of motion
that can occur at a joint is called the range of motion (ROM). If the ROM at
a joint is less than normal there may be certain functional activities that
you cannot perform. For example, if your shoulder has a decreased ROM you may
not be able to reach overhead to grab a cup from the cupboard, or if you knee
has decreased ROM you may walk with a limp.
In order to maintain normal ROM, joints must be moved through their available range quite often. If you are immobile due to an injury or illness, you may lose some of your joints' normal ROM. Physical therapists help to prevent this from happening by helping patients, as early as in the ICU, to continue to move all of their joints. These are called range of motion exercises.
Other
Orthopaedic Treatments
Other
Physical Therapy Treatments