What is range of motion?
Range of motion is how far a joint can move in each direction. Your knee can bend and straighten, your shoulder can lift and turn, and your wrist can tilt up and down.
Physiotherapists describe it as a movement you can do on your own, or a movement we help you do. Both matter, because the first shows what you can use and the second shows what is possible to regain.
Why does it matter?
Most daily jobs need a certain amount of movement. Putting on socks needs your hip and knee to bend, and reaching a high shelf needs your shoulder to lift.
When a joint cannot move far enough, the body finds a workaround, and the workaround can strain your back or the other knee. Restoring range early makes the rest of recovery easier.
An everyday example in Ipoh
Uncle Rajan had a knee operation and is home in a terrace house in Bercham. His surgeon wants the knee to bend enough to sit in a normal chair and climb the stairs to his bedroom.
At each visit we watch how far he bends, see where it feels tight, and set a small goal for the week, such as sitting at the dining table with the foot flat. He tracks it by noticing the chair, not by a number.
Related terms and next steps
Stiffness after surgery is described in our pages on knee replacement and post-surgical rehabilitation. A shoulder that has lost movement may be frozen shoulder, and an ankle that stays tight after a cast is covered in ankle stiffness after cast.
When tissues shorten and a joint cannot straighten at all, the word is contracture.