Shoulder ROM and Goniometers
The shoulder is the most movable joint in the human body. A group of four muscles and their tendons, called the rotator cuff, give the shoulder its wide range of motion.Four joints are present in the shoulder: the sternoclavicular (SC), acromioclavicular (AC), and scapulothoracic joints, and glenohumeral joint. The sternoclavicular joint is a synovial saddle joint and is the only joint that connects the upper limb to the axial skeleton.
Swelling, damage, or bone changes around the rotator cuff can cause shoulder pain.These are some symptoms of shoulder pain that may indicate a more serious problem, and an orthopedic surgeon in Manhattan should be consulted if: You can’t move your shoulder over your head or perform any normal movement. Your shoulder feels like it is not in its socket. Your shoulder joint doesn’t visibly look right.
Shoulder mobility provides the upper extremity with tremendous range of motion such as adduction, abduction, flexion, extension, internal rotation, external rotation, and 360° circumduction in the sagittal plane.Normal range of active movement of the shoulder has been specified by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) to be 180° for flexion and abduction and 90° for external rotation.Classically, shoulder ROM is measured using a goniometer for research purposes, although clinically, visual estimation is typically utilized given its efficiency and providers’ lack of access to a goniometer.
For instance,the average range of motion in frozen-stage shoulder patients is 98° of abduction, 117° of flexion, 33° external rotation and 18° of internal rotation with the shoulder abducted to 90°15. While the “stiffness stage” is the longest of the stages, adhesive capsulitis is thought to be reversible in the acute pain stage16.