Clinical studies on joint function and range of motion can be performed in a fairly healthy population, or targeted at specific illnesses such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, sport recovery, and general physical functioning in an ageing population.
Examples of clinical studies to evaluate joint function include:
- Improved Range of Motion (ROM) in a painful joint with limited function;
- Joint motion affected by previous trauma,
- Joint inflamed due to over-use and/or sports,
- Joint affected by symptoms of osteoarthritis,
- Joint motion affected by other chronic illness.
Joint function determines our ability to perform physical activities. Studies on joint function can be combined with evaluation of physical performance, inflammation markers, pain scoring, and general wellness questionnaires.
Method for Assessment of Range of Motion (ROM)
Our standard ROM protocol evaluates the range of motion for 30 distinct motions associated with major joints as well as the spine. The reason is that this allows us to capture objective measures for improvements to physical functioning, throughout the body and not associated with a specific diseased joint. The protocol can be customized to include additional anatomical areas, depending on the objective of the study.The evaluation of Range of Motion (ROM) is conducted in a detailed manner, where not only a person’s major area of discomfort is evaluated, but the entire vertical axis of the body is studied, from the neck to the knees.
The rationale behind this detailed assessment is that often a person’s primary complaint (for example right hip) will lead to a compensated posture and compensated ROM of other anatomical areas as the person strives to put less pressure on the painful area.
This assessment optimizes our ability to document changes as a result of product consumption.
The dual digital inclinometry assessment of ROM can be analyzed in two different ways:
- Overall ROM for each anatomical area,
- Specific assessment of each person’s problem areas.
The anatomical areas are:
- Cervical (neck);
- Shoulders;
- Thoracic (upper body/ torso);
- Upper extremities (shoulders);
- Lumbar (lower back);
- Lower body (hips, knees).
Each volunteer is analyzed for percent improvement from their own baseline (study start). These individual percent changes in ROM for a single discreet anatomical area are then averaged for all study participants.
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