PROM goals include maintaining joint mobility.

• A. Maintain joint mobility
• B. Reduce stiffness
• C. Protect healing tissues
• D. Improve motor control

Answer: (A)

Passive range of motion is used to keep a joint moving when a person cannot actively move it. The main goal is to preserve joint mobility by preventing contractures and maintaining soft tissue length, as well as promoting healthy joint surfaces through ongoing synovial fluid movement. This keeps the joint flexible and ready for later active movement, which is why maintaining joint mobility is the best description of PROM’s purpose.

Reductions in stiffness can result from regular motion, but the defining aim of PROM is to maintain motion itself. Protecting healing tissues is important in rehab, but PROM is about preserving motion within safe limits, not primarily about shielding tissues. Improving motor control, on the other hand, relies on active movement and neuromuscular training, which goes beyond what PROM provides.