This text has been written as additional instruction to the American Medical Association guides to the evaluation of permanent impairment (5th edition, 2000), and Master the Guides (5th edition, 2001). Primarily for physicians, this text is also relevant to other healthcare professionals. The authors, who have a long standing association with issues relating to measurement of joint range of motion, aim to achieve greater accuracy and reliability of measurement by the use of standardised protocols, instrumentation, and reporting. This is a laudable goal as the patient’s range of motion and the expected normal range of motion are used with other measures as a basis for evaluation of percentage permanent impairment (American Medical Association, 1993). In countries adopting these impairment ratings, such measurements form a substantial component of the permanent disability compensation award, which translates directly into the dollar amount paid to the patient by a compensatory body.

The book is divided into two main sections. Part 1 describes principles for measurement of joint range of motion. Part …