What is Closing Angle Joint Pain?

Closing angle joint pain (CAJP), is pain that is felt in a joint when the angle between two bones is decreasing or the bones are coming together. This is an indication that there is an underlying dysfunction in that joint.

Closing angle joint pain is also an indication that what you are feeling is something that SHOULD NOT be pushed through as this can cause further pain or injury.

The concept and acronym CAJP was brought forward by Functional Range Systems, and therefore it is used often in Kinstretch and Functional Range Conditioning.

The idea is that when we are moving or stretching we should always be limited by the OPEN angle tissue (or the tissue that is lengthening) rather than the CLOSING angle tissue.

Closing Angle Joint Pain Vs. Restrictions

It is important to note that closing angle joint pain often does not start as PAIN. Meaning, you may be moving your body and find that you are limited by the closing angle side. Rather than being painful you may just feel a restriction, blockage, congestion, or mild discomfort.

This can get confusing as it may SEEM like this is then safe to push through. However, those closing angle sensations or symptoms are also a sign of joint dysfunction or what we would call closing angle joint restrictions. It just means that the joint dysfunction or restriction has not yet progressed to a point where it is causing PAIN.

By pushing through those closing angle sensations or symptoms we actually cause tissue insult or damage, we increase our risk of future injury or trauma to that tissue, and we can add to the underlying joint dysfunction.

As such, it is generally safest practice to avoid closing angle sensations or symptoms altogether.

What About Closing Angle Muscles Working?

This then seems pretty straight forward until you realize that often the muscles working are on the closing angle side.

The next question then becomes “how do I know if it is just the muscle working or if it is a closing angle joint restriction?”.

As a very general rule, you can ask yourself if what you are feeling is a DIFFUSE AREA (which is more characteristic of muscle belly contracting) or if what you are feeling is a pin point sensation (which is more characteristic of a joint restriction or dysfunction).

If you’re a visual learner or want to learn in more detail, I highly recommend watching this video where we dive into all of this in detail and offer visuals: