Range of motion ( ROM / ROME ) is a basic technique used for the examination of movement and for initiating movement into a program of therapeutic intervention. Movement that is necessary to accomplish functional activities can be viewed, in its simplest form, as muscles or external forces moving bones in various patterns or ranges of motions. When a person moves, the intricate control of the muscle activity that causes or controls the motion comes from the central nervous system. Bones move with respect to each other at the connecting joints. The structure of the joints, as well as the integrity and flexibility of the soft tissues that pass over the joints, affects the amount of motion that can occur between any two bones. The full motion possible is called the range of motion (ROM). When moving a segment through its ROM, all structures in the region are affected: muscles, joint surfaces, capsules, ligaments, fasciae, vessels, and nerves. ROM activities are most easily described in terms of joint range and muscle range. To describe joint range, terms such as flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and rotation are used. Ranges of available joint motion are usually measured with a goniometer and recorded in degrees. Muscle range is related to the functional excursion of muscles.

To maintain normal ROM, the segments must be moved through their available ranges periodically, whether it is the available joint range or muscle range. It is recognized that many factors can lead to decreased ROM, such as systemic, joint, neurological, or muscular diseases; surgical or traumatic insults; or simply inactivity or immobilization for any reason. Therapeutically, ROM activities are administered to maintain joint and soft tissue mobility to minimize loss of tissue flexibility and contracture formation.

Extensive research by Salter has provided evidence of the benefits of movement on the healing of tissues in various pathological conditions in both the laboratory and clinical settings.

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