Post-traumatic elbow stiffness: Pathogenesis and current treatments

Post-traumatic elbow stiffness is a major cause of functional impairment after elbow trauma. A stiff elbow limits patients’ ability to position their hand in space for optimal use of their upper extremities, and as such, is a frequent indication for reoperation. This article reviews current concepts on the pathogenesis of post-traumatic elbow stiffness. Current nonoperative treatment options include therapy, bracing, and manipulation under anesthesia, while operative treatment options include arthroscopic and open arthrolysis. The pros and cons of various treatment options are discussed, with a focus on the evidence supporting their use, the expected functional gains, and associated complications. Future directions in post-traumatic elbow stiffness are highlighted.

• Publication year

  2018

• Venue

  Shoulder & Elbow

• Publication date

  2018-08-08

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1177/1758573218793903PMID 32010232PMCID PMC6974890
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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