Effects of Physical Therapy in the Treatment of the Posttraumatic Elbow Contractures in the Children

Abstract

Pediatric post-traumatic elbow contracture can occur as result of the various injuries of area of the elbow joint. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the physical therapy and rehabilitation on the range of the motion of the elbow joint in the post-traumatic elbow contractures in the childhood. We analyzed in this research 54 children (average age 9,4+/-3,15 years) that were treated because of posttraumatic elbow contractures. Kinesitherapy, occupational therapy and other procedures physical therapy are used in the management. Range of the motion of the elbow was measured at the beginning and the end of the therapy for every child. Functional outcome was presented in degree from 1 to 3 (Flynn). Satisfied result of the therapy at the discharge was in the 94, 45% of the children and 74, 07 % of the children had excellent result The difference in the grade at the beginning and the end of the therapy is statistically significant (t= 13,72, p<0,001). Significant improvement of the range of the motion in the elbow joint in the children with post-traumatic elbow contracture is attained by physical therapy.

Which treatment protocol is better in rehabilitation of joint contracture?

“…Joint contracture is a sequel of trauma and it results from a combination of injury-related, diagnostic-related and therapy-related factors. Rehabilitation programs have an important role in obtaining the optimal range of motion, attaining independence in daily living activities and back to work (10).…”

“…Also, joint contractures increase the risk of pain, pressure ulcers and fall. The main aim of improving range of motion is to reduce DOI: 10.4274/gulhane.galenos.2019.702…”

Duration and Success of Nerve Rehabilitation after Elbow Injuries in Children

“…The supracondylar humerus fractures in children are of high incidence (69%) compared with other fractures of the elbow area and show a relatively high percentage of invalidity. 1,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] The statistical processing of cases shows that the most frequent elbow injuries are fractures, of which the most frequent is the supracondylar humerus fracture, with 78 cases (55.71%), followed by epicondylar and condylar humerus fractures, with 19 cases (13.57%).…”

“…Fractures in the elbow region are the most frequent childhood injuries (10% of all fractures). 1 The most frequent of them is the supracondylar humerus fracture (> 50% of all fractures in this region). 2 Supracondylar humeral fractures are the most common elbow fractures in children requiring operative intervention.…”

“…Timely rehabilitation in treating elbow injuries can reduce the contracture and pain, which cause disability. 1,8,9 The mobilization program should be individual to protect the injured structures and allow maximum pain-free movement. 9 In the acute phase (1-6 weeks), the patient with elbow injuries should commence active exercises in all movements.…”