Objectives: To develop a global range of motion score (GROMS) and to investigate the association between this newly developed measure of joint range of motion and physical function in children with active juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
Methods: Two scales were calculated, 1 measuring 56 selected joints and 1 measuring 10 joints assessed as important to function by experts from the British Paediatric Rheumatology Group. These were measured in 50 patients with JIA whose disability was assessed using the Child Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ).
Results: The GROMS measuring all joints and the GROMS measuring 10 joints closely agreed with each other, and both GROMS correlated significantly with the CHAQ (r = -0.52 and -0.62, respectively).
Conclusion: The 10-joint GROMS is a simple, easy-to-use tool that measures overall change in joint range of motion that affects physical function in JIA.