Stiffness following surgery or injury to a joint develops as a progression of four stages: bleeding, edema, granulation tissue, and fibrosis. Continuous passive motion (CPM) properly applied during the first two stages of stiffness acts to pump blood and edema fluid away from the joint and periarticular tissues. This allows maintenance of normal periarticular soft tissue compliance. CPM is thus...

PURPOSE T-condylar fractures of the distal humerus are infrequent injuries in children. There are little data regarding outcomes in this age group. The adult literature demonstrates a high rate of postinjury stiffness. We describe a large series of T-condylar fractures in children and set out to identify factors that influence the postoperative range of motion (ROM) in children. Our hypothesis ...

Our elbow element presented in an earlier communication is enhanced to account for interaction effects between elbows and rigid flanges, elbows of different curvatures, and elbows joining straight pipe sections. The interaction effects are modeled by including the appropriate additional strain terms in the stiffness matrix formulation and by using a penalty procedure to enforce the continuity o...

BACKGROUND The elbow is prone to stiffness after trauma. To regain functional elbow motion several conservative- and surgical treatment options are available. Conservative treatment includes physical therapy, intra-articular injections with corticosteroids and a static progressive or dynamic splinting program. If conservative treatment fails, an operative release of the posttraumatic stiff elbo...

BACKGROUND Surgical decompression of the ulnar nerve is effective for cubital tunnel syndrome. However, deep approaches may result in iatrogenic elbow stiffness. This long-term study was to evaluate the range of motion (ROM) of the elbow and functional outcomes after anterior subcutaneous transposition. METHODS A total of 115 patients (78 male and 37 female; mean age: 46.6 years) who underwen...

Nirschl release appears to be a very successful technique for surgically suitable cases of tennis elbow. However, although the drilling or decortication aspect of the procedure was thought to be of benefit to the immediate outcome, this has not actually been confirmed. This randomised double blind comparative prospective trial shows that drilling confers no benefit and actually causes more pain...

Accepted 29 January 1997 An 18-year-old man walked into the out-patient department with complaints of spontaneous onset of pain and stiffness of neck and upper back for the last six years. On examination, multiple painless bony swellings were found over the nape of neck and dorsolumbar region. Similar bony swellings were also present over the left arm, forearm and both legs. Radiographic examin...

Superficial neuromasts are structures that detect water flow on the surface of the body of fish and amphibians. As a component of the lateral line system, these receptors are distributed along the body, where they sense flow patterns that mediate a wide variety of behaviors. Their ability to detect flow is governed by their structural properties, yet the micromechanics of superficial neuromasts...