Gill 2020
About this reference
Gill et al. (2020) measured active shoulder flexion, abduction and external rotation in 2,404 Australian adults. Flexion and abduction were measured in standing with a Plurimeter V inclinometer to the nearest degree; external rotation was also measured in standing, with the upper arm by the side and the elbow bent, but assessed visually to the nearest five degrees. Values cover across 14 five-year age brackets (20-24 through 85+). This is the largest normative dataset for shoulder ROM in community-dwelling Western adults. Data are presented as mean (SD) and median (IQR) separately for left and right shoulders. This site uses right-shoulder data as primary, since most participants are right-hand dominant and right-shoulder norms are most commonly used in clinical screening.
Known limitations
- Australian community sample, may not fully generalise to other Western populations, though large n reduces selection bias.
- Oldest bracket (85+) had only n=10 per sex and is excluded from this site's norms.
- P5 and P95 are estimated from mean plus or minus 1.645 x SD assuming approximate normality; P25, P50, and P75 use native IQR values from the paper.
- External rotation was assessed visually to the nearest five degrees rather than with an instrument, so it is less precise than the inclinometer-measured flexion and abduction. The authors note this as a limitation.
- Only one measurement was taken per movement, and staff were not experienced with the Plurimeter V inclinometer; the authors did not determine measurement error.
- Estimated P95 values above 90 degrees for external rotation are held at 90, the AAOS reference value for this movement. This affects women aged 20-24 and 25-29 and men aged 25-29, whose P95 is therefore a conservative estimate rather than a measured ceiling.