Range-of-motion exercises

About these exercises
These exercises reduce stiffness and help keep your joints flexible. The "range-of-motion" is the normal amount your joints can be moved in certain directions. If your joints are very painful and swollen, move them gently through their range of motion.




Exercise tips

These exercises can help keep your joints moving. Follow these tips to get the most benefit.

1. Do these once or twice per day.
2. Do each exercise 3 to 10 times.
3. Move slowly. Do not bounce.
4. Breathe while you exercise. Count out loud.
5. Begin exercises slowly, doing each exercise a few times only and gradually build up to more.
6. Try to achieve full range of motion by moving until you feel a slight stretch, but don't force a movement.
7. Don't try to help others do their exercises by moving their arms or legs.
8. STOP exercising if you have severe pain.

If you have arthritis, you should try to move your joints through their full range of motion every day. Daily activities, such as housework, climbing stairs, dressing, bathing, cooking, lifting, or bending DO NOT move your joints through their full range of motion. They should NOT replace the therapeutic exercises your therapist recommends for you.

Instructions for viewing movies

Below are some range-of-motion exercises for people with arthritis. Although these exercises were selected for their safety and effectiveness, the UW Department of Ortheopedics is not responsible for any injuries resulting from these exercises.

Some of these exercises are illustrated with movies. You must have QuickTime installed to view these movies. Please go to Apple's QuickTime website to download the player:


http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

After you have installed QuickTime, make sure that your browser is set up to automatically play movies when you download them. When you install QuickTime, it should do this for you.

Range of motion exercises

Neck

Breathe with the movements, breathing out when your head moves down, breathing in when it moves up. Don't let your shoulders or torso (upper body) sway to the side. Don't do movements that your doctors or therapists have advised against.

1. Turn your head slowly to the right, then to the left. Repeat two to four times.
2. Tilt your head toward one shoulder, then toward the other shoulder. Repeat two to four times.

Arms

1. Sit upright, arms supported on your lap, palms upward. Bend your fingers inward towards your palm, then unbend.
2. Next, as your fingers bend inward, flex your wrist. Keep fingers relaxed. Do not clench fist.
3. Bend your arm at the elbow, bringing fingertips towards shoulder. Keep fingers relaxed. Do not clench fist.
4. Maintaining this position, bring elbow up and then draw imaginary circles in space with your elbow.
5. Now unfold your arm at the elbow and reach towards the ceiling.
6. Slowly fold your arm down to rest your hand in your lap as in the initial position. Repeat two times, unfolding to shoulder, reaching to ceiling, returning to lap.

Fingers

* Massage each hand, one at a time. Take your time; go in between each finger. Enjoy this one!

* Open and close fingers slowly.

Chest and torso

* Sit in a chair. With hands on your waist, tilt to the right, return to center, then tilt to the left and return to center. Exhale as the movement goes down; inhale as the movement comes up. Don't allow your torso (upper body) to tilt forward. Don't try to hold your head up; instead, let it relax to the side.

Legs

* Rock and roll: Sit straight in your chair with your hands on your hips. Gently rock your hips from side to side.

Ankle

* Quicktime Movie Range of motion (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Gastroc stretch (0.15 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Soleus stretch (0.15 MB)

Back

* Quicktime Movie Pelvic tilt (0.21 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Hip lift (0.24 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Lower back rotation (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Double leg pull (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Single leg pull (0.20 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Push (0.26 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Back press (0.25 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Back release (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Arm reach (0.25 MB)

Elbow

* Quicktime Movie Elbow bending (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Elbow straightening (0.19 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Turning palm up (0.24 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Turning palm down (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Stretch for tennis elbow (0.23 MB)

Hand

* Quicktime Movie Table top (0.18 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Finger curls (0.16 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Finger tip touch (0.20 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Finger spread (0.15 MB)

Hip

* Quicktime Movie Hamstring stretch (0.27 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Hip flexor stretch (0.26 MB)

Shoulder

* Quicktime Movie Getting the arm up overhead while lying down (0.27 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Getting the arm up overhead while sitting (0.25 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Getting the arm up overhead with a pulley (0.26 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Getting the arm up to rotate while lying down (0.30 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Getting the arm to rotate while standing (0.27 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Getting the arm up the back (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Getting the arm across the body (0.30 MB)

Thumb

* Quicktime Movie Thumb slide (0.19 MB)
* Quicktime Movie In and out (0.19 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Thumb roll (0.20 MB)

Wrist

* Quicktime Movie Wrist flexion and extension (0.23 MB)
* Quicktime Movie Moving the wrist side to side (0.22 MB)