Posted: December 21st, 2015

joint mobility practical

Without freely moveable joints, Man cannot move. If joints stiffen, as in injury or disease, disability may be the result.

The mobility of a joint may be affected by intra-articular factors, e.g. the state of articular cartilage, or its lubrication by extra-articular structures, e.g. tight capsules or limited musculo-tendinous ties; by functional capacity, e.g. uncoordinated reciprocal activity of agonist and antagonist muscle groups; or by pathological condition, e.g. osteophytes or articular pain.

If one is to understand the degree to which function in a joint is lacking, an accurate measure of the normal functional state of the joint is necessary. This state may be measured in at least three ways:

1. by measuring statically the maximum limits to which the joint can be moved passively;

1. by measuring the mid-range stiffness of the joint when moved by some external force;

1. c) by measuring the dynamic movement range of the joint, i.e. the limits within which movement is confined during habitual activities.

In this sessions attention is directed to the first of these, viz, to determining the static limits of joint movement.

Clinically, it is customary to adopt the anatomical position of a joint as neutral zero, and to measure angular deviation from this position either positively or negatively. Full details of this recommended clinical method of measuring joint motion can be found in the British Orthopaedic Association’s Handbook “Joint Motion”. Alternative methods, slightly more convenient for numeral handling use the normal 360° scale, with an absolute zero.