Range of motion (ROM) is when a person has become injured in some way, most times the doctor's advice the patients to exercise and stretch the back muscles. For this purpose a form of exercises called range of motion exercises which are used to keep the muscles and joints in the patients back strong and flexible. These exercises can be done by the patient himself, or with a physical therapist. If these exercises are done alone they would be called active range of motion (AROM) exercises and if they require assistance they would be called active-assisted range of motion (AAROM) exercises.

A range of motion exercise machine won the 1991 Popular Science award for "Best of what's new" in leisure products.

Range of motion therapy is used largely for two distinct subgroups: temporary users and long term users.

Typically, a temporary user of ROM therapy is affected by a cause that will be resolved in the short term. These causes can be varied but mainly fall into three categories.

In each case the user is expected to make a full recovery, and over time will no longer need ROM to ensure the proper function of their musculoskeletal structure.^{[medical citation needed]}

A long-term range of motion user will usually need ROM therapy for life. These are users affected by permanent disability that ROM will not resolve. In large part long-term users continue ROM therapy daily for the quality of life improvements they see. Users typically suffer from,

One of the major benefits of range of motion therapy for those users confined to wheelchairs is the daily movement of their limbs. This movement helps circulate the blood to extremities helping reduce the risks of blood clots, sores, and muscle tone reduction. With the help of ROM therapy, quality of life for such users can be greatly improved. For elderly users, a ROM therapy program will help improve their quality of life though exercise.

Range of motion exercise refers to activity aimed to improving movement of a specific joint. This motion is influenced by several structures: configuration of bone surfaces within the joint, joint capsule, ligaments, tendons, and muscles acting on the joint. Range of motion exercises are also called "ROM" exercises. There are three types of ROM exercises: passive, active, and active assists. Passive range of motion is movement applied to a joint solely by another person or persons or a passive motion machine. When passive range of motion is applied, the joint of an individual receiving exercise is completely relaxed. At the same time, the outside force moves the body part, such as a leg or arm, throughout the available range. Injury, surgery, or immobilization of a joint may affect the normal joint range of motion.