Background: Measurements of joint range of motion obtained in the clinical environment may not truly reflect the effect of pathology on everyday function. Wearable, accelerometer-based physical activitymonitors are now commonly used in healthy and patient populations to record various aspects of everyday, non-supervised activity. We perceived that such a physical activity monitor, affixed to the upper limb, might be capable of recording elevation of the upper limb with respect to gravity, and hence provide an indication of shoulder joint range of motion ‘in the field’. Purpose: We undertook the current study as a ‘proof of concept’ study, i.e. to assess whether a specific accelerometer-based physical activity monitor, the SenseWear Mini Armband (SMA), could be used to provide data on static upper limb elevation, and to assess the agreement between static upper limb elevation measures obtained using the SMA and those obtained with a universal goniometer. Methods: Using a universal goniometer, we positioned the upper limbs of healthy adult subjects (n= 25, age 30± 9 years) in a series of set positions between arm-by-side and maximal active shoulder flexion, and arm-by-side and maximal active shoulder abduction. Subjects wore the SMA throughout positioning, and SMA accelerometer data was used to retrospectively calculate/derive upper limb elevation angle using a manufacturer-provided algorithm. Paired ttests were used to compare goniometer-set and SMA-derived upper limb elevation angles, and the Bland–Altman method was used to assess agreement between goniometer-set and SMA-derived upper limb elevation angles. Results: There were significant differences between goniometer-set and SMA-derived upper limb elevation angles for angles set at ≤30 degrees and ≥90 degrees (p< 0.05). A Bland–Altman plot showed that the greater the angle of elevation, the greater the difference between goniometer-set and SMA-derived elevation angles. Adjustment of the manufacturer-provided algorithm for deriving upper limb elevation angle corrected for this systematic difference, and resulted in 95% limits of agreement± 13degrees across the full range of upper limb elevation. Conclusion(s): The SMA can be used to record data allowing derivation of static upper limb elevation in the upright position, 95% limits of agreement with the universal goniometer being similar to those reported for digital inclinometers and gyroscopes. Physical therapists looking for innovativemethods of recording shoulder range ofmotion should consider the potential of accelerometer-basedphysical activity monitors such as the SMA. Implications: Technological advances present physical therapistswith novelmethods ofmeasuring patients’ physical function, both in clinical environments and in the field. It is important to evaluation the validity of such novel methods before promoting their broader uptake by physical therapists.