Home Care:

Your health care provider may recommend range of motion exercises, designed to increase muscle strength and flexibility. Continue these exercises at home.

Call your health care provider if:

Visit your health care provider if a joint does not move fully and easily in its normal way. If a joint develops (new) changes in its ability to move, the affected part should be examined to determine the cause.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

The health care provider will perform a physical examination and will ask for your medical history.

Medical history questions showing limited range of motion in detail may include the following:

• Time pattern: When did it start?
• Quality: How bad is it?
• Location
  • Where is it exactly?
  • Is it only in one location?
• Other
  • Do you also have pain?
  • What other symptoms are present?

Note: Limited range of motion may be discovered by the health care provider during an examination for other conditions, and the affected person may or may not have been aware of its presence.

The muscular system, nervous system, and skeleton may be examined in detail. Depending on the cause, diagnostic tests may be necessary, including the following:

• Joint X-rays
• Spine X-rays
• Tests for the suspected cause

Physical therapy may be recommended.