Clinical Skills Performance Checklists: Passive Range of

Motion Exercises
Focus topic: Clinical Skills Performance Checklists

• Raise the bed to a comfortable working height and lock the wheels.
• Position the resident in the supine position with pillow under head.
• Exercise each shoulder, rotating the shoulder joint smoothly; abduct and adduct the
shoulder.
• Supporting the wrist and elbow, exercise the elbow and forearm by flexing and extending
the lower arm.
• Rotate and flex the wrists, one wrist at a time, from side to side (ulnar deviation and
radial deviation).
• Flex and extend each hand at the wrist.
• Flex and extend the fingers and thumb of each hand.
• Exercising each leg at a time, support the foot from behind the ankles, and flex the lower
legs by bending the knee.
• Exercising each leg at a time, support each foot from behind the ankles, and adduct and
abduct the legs at the hip.
• Exercising each hip at a time, rotate each leg at the hip, supporting the ankle.
• Supporting each foot behind the instep, rotate, flex, and extend the foot at the ankle.
• Grasp, flex, and extend the toes.

CAUTION:

If the resident complains of sudden pain in the calf when performing steps 11 or 12, stop the
procedure and notify the nurse because this could be a symptom of a blood clot in the lower leg.