Functional range of motion of the joints of the hand

Active ranges of motion of the joints of the hand are well documented, but there is little data reporting the functional ranges of motion required to perform activities of daily living. Electrogoniometric and standard methods were used to measure both active and functional ranges of motion of the metacarpalphalangeal and interphalangeal joints during 11 activities of daily living. In the fingers, only a small percentage of the active range of motion of the joints was required for functional tasks. Functional flexion postures averaged 61 degrees at the metacarpalphalangeal joint, 60 degrees at the proximal interphalangeal joint, and 39 degrees at the distal interphalangeal joint. In the thumb, functional flexion postures averaged 21 degrees at the metacarpalphalangeal joint and 18 degrees at the interphalangeal joint using only 32% of the available flexion. Active thumb metacarpalphalangeal joint motion was found to be bimodal in the study group.