How to Find the Range of Motion of Shoulder Extension

A healthy shoulder should have no problem attaining the full range of motion.

Shoulder extension is not thought of as a motion used often, but it is incorporated into everyday life quite frequently. For example, you need about 56 degrees of shoulder extension to fasten a traditional bra, and at least 60 degrees of extension to swim freestyle. Any lack of motion of the shoulder extension could compromise a person in daily life both at home and at work. It is important to make sure your patient has a full range of motion for shoulder extension.

Things You'll Need

• Goniometer

Instructions

1. Ask your patient to lay on the table, face down. Make sure the arm you are treating is closer to you. Have the patient turn his head away from you so that he is able to fully extend his shoulder comfortably.

2. Palpate the shoulder and locate the greater tuberosity. Many muscles attach here, so it is a fairly prominent structure on the lateral side of the arm. Make sure the patient's palm of his hand is facing his body.

3. Place the fulcrum of your goniometer on the greater tuberosity of the humerus. You will need the stationary arm to be parallel to the midline of the body, and the movable arm to be inline with the middle of the shaft of the humerus.

4. Ask the patient to extend the arm, leading with his pinky finger, and reaching for the ceiling. Follow his movement with the movable arm of the goniometer, only stopping when the patient reaches his full range of motion. Keep one hand on the patient's ribs to ensure he is not lifting or tilting his body to compensate for any loss of movement in extending his shoulder.

5. Record the reading found on the goniometer. Compare this reading with the standard reading of shoulder complex extension, which is 60 degrees. If the patient reaches 60 degrees or more, he has no insufficiency in his range of motion.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep one hand on the patient's ribs so you will note if he starts to come off the table. This would indicate that the patient is trying to compensate for a lack of shoulder extension.

• Don't allow the patient to roll away from you as he extends his shoulder. This will cause an incorrect reading on the goniometer, as the patient is compromising his flexibility.

Resources

• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Shoulder Exercises