Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026
A Standardized Method for Measurement of Elbow Kinesthesia
Published on: October 10, 2020
Operative Treatment of Elbow Stiffness
1Orthopaedic Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston MA 02114. E-mail address for D. Ring: dring@partners.org.
Introduction:
Open elbow contracture release is the mainstay for the operative treatment of posttraumatic elbow stiffness.
Step 1 Skin Incision:
Use either a posterior skin incision and raise medial and lateral skin flaps or use more direct individual medial and lateral skin incisions.
Step 2 Protect Or Release Peripheral Nerves:
Release the ulnar nerve using a small incision and in situ release when a lateral muscle interval (between the extensor carpi radialis brevis and extensor digitorum communis muscles) is preferred for the contracture release; use a larger incision with subcutaneous anterior transposition when a medial muscle interval (50:50 split of the flexor pronator mass) is used.
Step 3 Develop Muscle Intervals For Exposure Of The Joint:
Choose a lateral (extensor carpi radialis brevis/extensor digitorum communis) or medial (50:50 split of the flexor pronator mass) muscle interval to expose the elbow capsule.
Step 4 Resect Bone Contracted Capsule And Implants Restricting Motion:
Remove the structures that hinder motion: implants, heterotopic bone, and contracted capsule.
Step 5 Tenolysis/Muscle Elevation:
When the triceps and the brachialis muscles are adherent to the distal third of the humerus, release them using an elevator.
Step 6 Manipulate Elbow Consider Implant Removal:
Take care not to push so hard that you fracture the bone at a stress riser created by removal of bone or implants.
Step 7 Wound Closure:
Close the muscle intervals and skin.
Step 8 Postoperative Management:
The key after surgery is frequent, active, patient-assisted elbow flexion, extension, and forearm rotation stretches.
Results:
A case series of patients with elbow contracture release documented an average improvement in the arc of elbow flexion of between 21° and 66°.
What To Watch For:
IndicationsContraindicationsPitfalls & Challenges.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Operational Amplifiers
01:20Vector Operations
A vector multiplied by a scalar value is called scalar multiplication. The result obtained is a new vector with a different magnitude. If the scalar is positive, the direction of the vector remains the same, but if it is negative, the direction of the vector is reversed. For example, the product of the mass and velocity yields the momentum.
01:21Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...
01:21Modes of Operations of BJT
Active Mode: The most common mode for amplification, the active mode features a forward-biased emitter-base junction and a reverse-biased base-collector junction. This setup enables electrons to be injected from the emitter to the base while blocking the majority carriers at the collector. The...
01:22Second Derivatives and Laplace Operator
Consider a scalar function. The curl of its...
01:22Basic Operations on Signals
Time Reversal mirrors a continuous-time signal about the vertical axis at t=0. This is achieved by substituting t with −t. For example, if a signal x(t) is considered, the time-reversed signal is x(−t). This operation can be graphically represented, showing the mirrored signal.