Bony landmarks act as a point of axis for the goniometer. Bony landmarks also tell you where to place the arms of the goniometer. Palpating the bony landmarks will help position the goniometer properly. It is important to find bony landmarks when measuring range of motion because it increases interrater reliability. Finding the bony landmark on the client, increases the chance of two different therapists reading the same degrees of ROM on the client. It is also important to find the bony landmarks when you do repeated measures and testing. The results will be more accurate because you have the same starting place and that will increase intrarater reliability, when doing the test multiple times. It is important to positioning the goniometer arms in the proper position, so you are able to be accurate when documenting client ROM. It is important to be able to position the client in the appropriate position for ROM, for safety reasons. The proper positioning of the client is also important for an accurate reading of ROM. The client position should allow for the total available ROM to be produced.
The purpose of the test position is to put the segment being tested in mid-range to allow for the optimal position for muscle contraction. You want the position for manual muscle testing to give you information on weak muscles. When someone’s body is parallel to the ground, gravity is now eliminated from the equation. Gravity is a resistance force. Gravity eliminated position is a way to measure ROM if someone is unable to provide ROM in against gravity position. You don’t do the break test using resistance in the gravity eliminated position, but you are able to given them a MMT grade. Someone in the gravity eliminated position would be more sensitive to change.
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