Passive Range of Motion (PROM) of the Knee

PROM is usually done when you can observe limited ROM during AROM. The goal of PROM is to obtain the end-feel of the joint to determine what is limiting full range of motion. The following table shows an overview of „normal“ and „abnormal“ kinds of end-feels:

 

End Feel

Example

NORMAL
Hard (Ligamentous)
Soft tissue approximation
Tissue stretch		 Elbow extension
Knee flexion
Ankle dorsiflexion, shoulder lateral rotation, finger extension

ABNORMAL
Early muscle spasm

Late muscle spasm

‘Mushy’ tissue stretch
Spasticity
Hard capsular
Soft capsular
Bone to bone
Empty (due to pain)
Springy block

 Protective spasm following injury

Spasm resulting from instability or pain

Tight muscle
Upper motor neuron lesion
Frozen shoulder
Synovitis, soft tissue edema
Ostephyte formation
Acute subacromial bursitis
Meniscus tear

 

The normal end-feel for different movements in the knee is as follows:

Flexion: Soft tissue approximation

Extension: Tissue stretch

Medial Rotation: Tissue stretch

External Rotation: Tissue stretch

Patellar Movements: Tissue stretch (all directions)

 

Study

Reliability

 Sn Sp LR+

LR-
Magee et al. (2014)

NA

 NA NA NA

NA