Shoulder Range of Motion of Healthy Elderly People:

Abstract

Few estimations of normal shoulder range of motion (ROM) have been carried out with randomly recruited elderly people. The main objective of the study was to develope normative data for four active shoulder movements: flexion, abduction, inward and outward rotations, with people aged 60 and over. Three hundred and sixty subjects were randomly recruited from six age-gender groups (60-69,70-79 and 80 and over). Shoulder ROMs were measured with a universal goniometer using the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons protocol (1965). Generally, an age-related change was significant for flexion and abduction movements, particularly in men, whereas no significant difference was found between the three age groups for the two rotations. These results are interpreted in relation to personal characteristics and activities of daily living. The normative data will help clinicians to identify pathological reduction of shoulder range of motion in an elderly population.