Loss of Motion

The Elbow: Arthrofibrosis and Loss of Motion

Hanging up clothes. Swinging a golf club. Playing tennis. All of these motions require full extension of the elbow.

Of all the joints, the elbow is perhaps the most difficult to rehabilitate. Following surgery, patients often develop arthrofibrosis in the elbow - an abnormal growth of fibrous "scar tissue" around the joint - which leads to loss of motion.

Inability to freely move the elbow causes people to compensate with shoulder and torso movements, which further stresses the joints in the shoulder and the spine.

“Regardless of cause, elbow stiffness is a threat to the integrated function of the entire upper limb.”

Jesse B. Jupiter, MD BioMechanics, March 2006

Treatment

The Elbow: Motion Without Surgery

Loss of motion isn’t unusual in the first few weeks after injury or surgery. But many patients suffer from activity-limiting motion loss well beyond a few weeks.

Historically, there have been two options available to treat severe motion loss — manipulation under anesthesia and surgical scar tissue removal — and both require expensive and risky hospital operating room procedures. In fact, according to Jesse B. Jupiter, MD, surgical scar tissue removal procedures have a complication rate between 10 and 30 percent.

With mechanical therapy using ERMI devices, patients avoid these interventions all together. Working at home, a patient can stretch out even the stiffest elbow with rapid, lasting results.

Loss of Motion | Treatment | Products | Insurance | Back to top

Products

The Elbow: In-Home Therapy Products

The ERMI Elbow Extensionater relies on the ERMI Patient-Actuated Serial Stretch or PASS protocol, coupling periods of stretch with periods of relaxation for optimal therapy.

ERMI Elbow Extensionater
The ERMI Elbow Extensionater is a very small, easy-to-use device that uses patented pneumatic air bladder technology to improve both flexion and extension. This device is custom-fit for each patient to ensure comfort and anatomically correct mechanics.

ERMI Elbow Extensionater
The ERMI Elbow Extensionater is based on the principle of three-point bending. Studies have shown that patients demonstrated an average of 15 degrees increased elbow extension in five weeks, with most patients demonstrating full elbow extension in that time frame.

Back to top