• OBJECTIVES
    • To determine the value of static progressive splinting in helping patients with posttraumatic elbow stiffness regain functional motion and avoid operative treatment for stiffness.
  • DESIGN
    • Retrospective case series.
  • SETTING
    • Level I Trauma Center.
  • PATIENTS AND INTERVENTION
    • Over a 3-year period, 29 consecutive patients with elbow stiffness after trauma (flexion contracture greater than 30 degrees or flexion less than 130 degrees) were treated with static progressive elbow splinting when a standard exercise program was no longer achieving gains in motion. Three patients were treated after the injury alone; 14 were treated after operative treatment of the initial injury, and 12 after a secondary operative contracture release for posttraumatic stiffness. Splinting was initiated on an average of 55 days (range, 15 to 200 d) after injury or operative treatment.
  • MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS
    • Ulnohumeral range of motion before and after splint treatment.
  • RESULTS
    • The flexion arc improved from 71 degrees (range, 0 to 100 degrees) before splinting to 112 degrees (range, 20 to 150 degrees) after splinting. After splinting, 3 patients had a flexion contracture greater than 30 degrees and 10 patients (34%) had fewer than 130 degrees of flexion. Only 3 patients-2 with heterotopic bone and 1 with an associated ulnar neuropathy-requested an operation to address elbow stiffness. Patients who were splinted after the initial injury (n=17, average improvement (fl-ext)=51+/-37 degrees) regained greater motion during splint wear than patients treated after elbow capsulectomy (n=12, average improvement (fl-ext)=22+/-24 degrees).
  • CONCLUSIONS
    • Static progressive splinting can help gain additional motion when standard exercises seem stagnant or inadequate, particularly after the original injury. Operative treatment of stiffness was avoided in most patients.