People with bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia and Von Willebrand Disease may develop chronic joint disease from repeated bleeding into their joints. Over time, the joint disease results in decreased mobility of the joints. People without bleeding disorders also lose mobility in their joints with aging. However, there are very few studies of joint mobility over time in people without bleeding disorders.
Data from the joint range of motion study provide a baseline to learn more about loss of mobility due to joint bleeding.
About the Study
To have a baseline with which to compare people with bleeding disorders, the joints of more than 600 people in the general population without bleeding disorders were measured as part of the study. CDC collected range of motion (ROM) measurements of the elbow, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle from a sample of individuals without known medical or physical conditions affecting the joint mobility.
The objective was to generate data that could be used to:
- Provide reference values for normal joint ROM for males and females and across the life span for comparison to people with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.
- Provide a public database of joint ROM measures that could be used to assess impairment in joint mobility for other patient populations.
Reference Values for Normal Joint Range of Motion
The following table provides the reference values along with 95% confidence intervals for normal range of motion for 11 measurements taken on 5 joints. Values are provided separately by sex and age.
Age 2–8 |
||
Motion |
Females |
Males |
Hip extension |
26.2 (23.9 – 28.5) |
28.3 (27.2 – 29.4) |
Hip flexion |
140.8 (139.2 – 142.4) |
131.1 (129.4 – 132.8) |
Knee flexion |
152.6 (151.2 – 154.0) |
147.8 (146.6 – 149.0) |
Knee extension |
5.4 (3.9 – 6.9) |
1.6 (0.9 – 2.3) |
Ankle dorsiflexion |
24.8 (22.5 – 27.1) |
22.8 (21.3 – 24.3) |
Ankle plantar flexion |
67.1 (64.8 – 69.4) |
55.8 (54.4 – 57.2) |
Shoulder flexion |
178.6 (176.9 – 180.3) |
177.8 (176.7 – 178.9) |
Elbow flexion |
152.9 (151.5 – 154.3) |
151.4 (150.8 – 152.0) |
Elbow extension |
6.8 (5.2 – 8.4) |
2.2 (0.9 – 3.5) |
Elbow pronation |
84.6 (82.8 – 86.4) |
79.6 (78.8 – 80.4) |
Elbow supination |
93.7 (91.4 – 96.0) |
86.4 (85.3 – 87.5) |
Age 9–19 |
||
Motion |
Females |
Males |
Hip extension |
20.5 (18.6 – 22.4) |
18.2 (16.6 – 19.8) |
Hip flexion |
134.9 (133.0 – 136.8) |
135.2 (133.0 – 137.4) |
Knee flexion |
142.3 (140.8 – 143.8) |
142.2 (140.4 – 144.0) |
Knee extension |
2.4 (1.5 – 3.3) |
1.8 (0.9 – 2.7) |
Ankle dorsiflexion |
17.3 (15.6 – 19.0) |
16.3 (14.9 – 17.7) |
Ankle plantar flexion |
57.3 (54.8 – 59.8) |
52.8 (50.8 – 54.8) |
Shoulder flexion |
171.8 (169.8 – 173.8) |
170.9 (169.1 – 172.7) |
Elbow flexion |
149.7 (148.5 – 150.9) |
148.3 (146.8 – 149.8) |
Elbow extension |
6.4 (4.7 – 8.1) |
5.3 (3.6 – 7.0) |
Elbow pronation |
81.2 (79.6 – 82.8) |
79.8 (77.8 – 81.8) |
Elbow supination |
90.0 (88.0 – 92.0) |
87.8 (85.7 – 89.9) |
Age 20–44 |
||
Motion |
Females |
Males |
Hip extension |
18.1 (17.0 – 19.2) |
17.4 (16.3 – 18.5) |
Hip flexion |
133.8 (132.5 – 135.1) |
130.4 (129.0 – 131.8) |
Knee flexion |
141.9 (140.9 – 142.9) |
137.7 (136.5 – 138.9) |
Knee extension |
1.6 (1.1 – 2.1) |
1.0 (0.6 – 1.4) |
Ankle dorsiflexion |
13.8 (12.9 – 14.7) |
12.7 (11.6 – 13.8) |
Ankle plantar flexion |
62.1 (60.6 – 63.6) |
54.6 (53.2 – 56.0) |
Shoulder flexion |
172.0 (170.9 – 173.1) |
168.8 (167.3 – 170.3) |
Elbow flexion |
150.0 (149.1 – 150.9) |
144.6 (143.6 – 145.6) |
Elbow extension |
4.7 (3.9 – 5.5) |
0.8 (0.1 – 1.5) |
Elbow pronation |
82.0 (81.0 – 83.0) |
76.9 (75.6 – 78.2) |
Elbow supination |
90.6 (89.2 – 92.0) |
85.0 (83.8 – 86.2) |
Age 45–69 |
||
Motion |
Females |
Males |
Hip extension |
16.7 (15.5 – 17.9) |
13.5 (12.5 – 14.5) |
Hip flexion |
130.8 (129.2 – 132.4) |
127.2 (125.7 – 128.7) |
Knee flexion |
137.8 (136.5 – 139.1) |
132.9 (131.6 – 134.2) |
Knee extension |
1.2 (0.7 – 1.7) |
0.5 (0.1 – 0.9) |
Ankle dorsiflexion |
11.6 (10.6 – 12.6) |
11.9 (10.9 – 12.9) |
Ankle plantar flexion |
56.5 (55.0 – 58.0) |
49.4 (47.7 – 51.1) |
Shoulder flexion |
168.1 (166.7 – 169.5) |
164.0 (162.3 – 165.7) |
Elbow flexion |
148.3 (147.3 – 149.3) |
143.5 (142.3 – 144.7) |
Elbow extension |
3.6 (2.6 – 4.6) |
-0.7 (-1.5 – 0.1) |
Elbow pronation |
80.8 (79.7 – 81.9) |
77.7 (76.5 – 78.9) |
Elbow supination |
87.2 (86.0 – 88.4) |
82.4 (80.9 – 83.9) |
Reference: Soucie JM, Wang C, Forsyth A, Funk S, Denney M, Roach KE, Boone D, and the Hemophilia Treatment Center Network. Range of motion measurements: reference values and a database for comparison studies. Haemophilia 2010; e-pub November 11, 2010.
Public Use Data and Resources
The normal range of motion dataset is available for download as a public use dataset in either Microsoft Excel or Statistical Analysis Software (SAS) format. Please read the Data Use Restrictions Policy located on this webpage for important information about the conditions for use of these data files. Also, please download and refer to the “Methods and Materials” as well as the “Description and Sample Tables” documents below. Important information is contained in these files about how to use and properly interpret the data contained in the dataset.
Warning! Data Use Restrictions Read Carefully Before Using
The Public Health Service Act (Section 308 (d)) provides that the data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be used only for the purpose of health statistical reporting and analysis.
Any effort to determine the identity of any reported case is prohibited by this law.
CDC does all it can to assure that the identity of data subjects cannot be disclosed. All direct identifiers, as well as any characteristics that might lead to identification, are omitted from the dataset. Any intentional identification or disclosure of a person or establishment violates the assurances of confidentiality given to the providers of the information. Therefore, users will:
- Use the data in this dataset for statistical reporting and analysis only.
- Make no use of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently.
- Not link this dataset with individually identifiable data from other CDC or non-CDC datasets.
By using these data you signify your agreement to comply with the above-stated statutorily based requirements.
- Page last reviewed: April 12, 2017
- Page last updated: November 29, 2010
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