Joint Release Technique Editor Basic Concept Joint release technique is a highly targeted manipulation technique done by the therapist within the movable range of joint activities, which belongs to the passive movement category. The physiological movement of the joint refers to the movement of the joint within the physiological range, which can be done actively or passively. Accessory joint movements are movements that can be performed within the limits of the joint and its surrounding tissues, called accessory movements, and are indispensable for maintaining normal joint movement. It cannot be done actively and requires the help of other people or the opposite limb to complete, such as joint separation and lateral movement of the patella. When a joint is restricted due to pain or stiffness, its physiological and accessory movements are limited. If the joint is still painful or stiff after physiologic motion has been restored, the accessory motion may not be fully normalized. Usually, improvement of the accessory motion precedes improvement of the physiological motion, and improvement of the accessory motion can in turn promote improvement of the physiological motion. The lever-like motion of the bone is called ~, i.e., physiologic motion. The oscillation should be fixed at the proximal end of the joint, and the joint should do a round-trip motion remotely. Oscillation must be applied at ROM > 60% (when normal). For example, the oscillation maneuver for shoulder pronation should be applied only when the shoulder pronation reaches at least 100°, and if this range is not reached it should be improved first with an accessory motion maneuver. When one bone rolls on the surface of another bone, the surface shapes of the two bones must not coincide and the contact points change at the same time. The motion that occurs is an angular motion, and the direction of its roll is always in the direction of the angular bone motion, often accompanied by sliding and rotation of the joint. When a bone slides on another bone, such as simple sliding, the shape of the two bone surfaces must be the same, either flat or curved (the degree of concavity and convexity of the two bone surfaces must be equal). When sliding, the same point on one bone surface contacts a different point on the opposite bone surface. The direction of sliding depends on the concave and convex shape of the articular surface of the moving bone (convex – the direction of sliding is opposite to the direction of osteogenic angular motion; concave – the direction of osteogenic motion is the same as the direction of osteogenic angular motion). The closer the shape of the joint surface – the more sliding, the more inconsistent the shape of the joint surface – the more rolling. In clinical application, sliding is used more often because it relieves pain and combined with pulling can loosen the joint capsule, relax the joint and improve the range of motion of the joint. Rotation refers to the rotation of a stationary bone surface around an axis of rotation, where the same point of the moving surface moves in a circular motion. Rotation often occurs simultaneously with sliding and rolling, and rarely acts alone.