Range of motion of the knee is the range in degrees through which the knee can bend and straighten, and which is normally -5° to +143° in women and -6° to +140° in men.

Page updated October 2023 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)

 

Terminology of range of knee motion (ROM)

A straight leg is said to be at zero (0) degrees (ie zero degrees of flexion). Full flexion is normally about 135-143 degrees, depending on the muscle/fat bulk of the limb.

Although a straight knee is at 0 degrees, normally, a person can actually go beyond 0 degrees, and slightly 'hyper-extend', so full extension might be -6 degrees. This is very important in rehabilitation, because the last few degrees of extension are critical for knee stability. So when you are rehabilitation you need to get a measurement of your normal knee - both in flexion and extension - and use that as the desired range for the problem knee.

 

This video explains the terminology -

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Measuring knee ROM with a goniometer

plastic goniometer for measuring range of motion

A plastic goniometer with longer arms is usually used to measure the range.

goniometer measuring knee range of motion

 

The scale part of the goniometer is placed on the joint line.

 

A 'goniometer' is a circular plastic disc marked out in degrees, with two long arms - one stationary and the other able to move. The centre of the disc is placed on the side of the knee at a bony reference point, and the one arm is pointed at the ankle while the other is pointed at the hip.

Two variants of ROM are usually measured during rehabilitation - the 'active' ROM - ie the range that the patient can achieve unaided, and the 'passive' ROM which is the range that can be achieved if the physiotherapist takes the knee through its motion.

 

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Synonyms: 
ROM
range-of-motion
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Dr Sheila Strover (Editor)
BSc (Hons), MB BCh, MBA

See biography...


Measurement of ROM -

Stiffness -

ROM exercises:


Dr Sheila Strover2017 - Course - The Anatomy of Knee Flexibility - by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)

 


Peer-reviewed paper -


Exercises -

Dr Sheila Strover2018 - A-Z of Rehabilitation Exercises - by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)


 

eBook of knee rehabilitation exercises

eBook - Cornerstones of Early Knee Rehabilitation

by Mr Sebastiano Nutarelli (Physiotherapist). Free to download.

eBook about patella mobes

eBook - How to perform Patellar Mobilisations

by Mr Sebastiano Nutarelli (Physiotherapist). Free to download.


eBook on objectives of knee rehab

eBook - Objectives of Knee Rehabilitation

by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor). Free to download.