|
A muscle contracture is a permanent shortening of a muscle or joint. It is usually in response to prolonged hypertonic spasticity in a concentrated muscle area, such as is seen in the tightest muscles of people with conditions like spastic cerebral palsy.A contracture is a tightening of muscle, tendons, ligaments, or skin that prevents normal movement.A contracture develops when the normally elastic (stretchy) connective tissues are replaced by inelastic (nonstretchy) fiber-like tissue. This makes it hard to stretch the area and prevents normal movement.Contractures occur primarily in the skin, underlying tissues, muscle, tendons, and joint areas. The most common causes are scarring and lack of use (due to immobilization or inactivity). A contracture develops when the normally elastic (stretchy) connective tissues are replaced by inelastic (nonstretchy) fiber-like tissue. This makes it hard to stretch the area and prevents normal movement. Contractures occur primarily in the skin, underlying tissues, muscle, tendons, and joint areas. The most common causes are scarring and lack of use (due to immobilization or inactivity).Abnormal shortening of muscle tissue, rendering the muscle highly resistant to stretching. A contracture can lead to permanent disability. It can be caused by fibrosis of the tissues supporting the muscle or the joint, or by disorders of the muscle fibers themselves. A state of prolonged resistance in a muscle which does not involve an action potential. Contracture may result from mechanical, physical, or chemical agents. It is commonly associated with a fibrosis, which shrinks and shortens muscle tissue. Polio paralyzes motor nerves (most commonly those of the legs, but also frequently of the back and sometimes of the arms). The muscles which the paralyzed nerves are supposed to control do not get sufficient exercise and thus begin to atrophy soon after the patient has recovered from the active phase of the disease. When, as is often the case, the muscles atrophy unevenly on the two opposing sides of a joint, it is called "muscle imbalance" and, if left uncorrected, usually results in the joint coming to favor strongly a particular position (the stronger muscle pulling harder than the more paralyzed one).Similarly the back calf muscle in polio cases is often stronger than the muscles on the front of the shin, causing the foot to be pulled down into a "toe pointing" position. When the muscle contracts as a result of its success in always pulling the foot down, the ankle losses full range of motion and the toe point or "heel contracture" becomes permanent. Correcting Contractures Contractures which are not severe can often be corrected by a serious of casts, each cast serving to straighten the joint a little more, until near full range of motion is recovered (though not muscle control). Severe contractures usually require a minor surgical procedure to loosen up the tendons that hold the muscles before casting begins. Depending on whether surgery is required or not, and how severe the contracture, the leg-straightening procedure can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months. Once done, however, it will not need to be repeated as long as the person continues to wear a brace regularly, since the brace preserves full joint extension. Straightening required two operations and eight months of successive casts. (The pictures show him first at roughly the half way point, then later when the casts were removed and he was fitted with braces to permit walking.) Muscle contractures can occur for many reasons, such as paralysis, muscular atrophy, and forms of muscular dystrophy. Fundamentally, the muscle and its tendons shorten, resulting in reduced flexibility. Bhuwan, for information on Burn,Contracture Burn SurgeonsBurn Treatment,Treatment of Burn,Plastic Surgery,Post Burn,Burn Hospitals,Burn Doctors and Burn Specialists.Please visit our site:http://www.burntreatment.in/
Related Articles -
Contracture, Burn Surgeons,
|
