contracture

Definition

Contractures are the chronic loss of joint motion due to structural changes in non-bony tissue. These non-bony tissues include muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

Description

Contractures can occur at any joint of the body. This joint dysfunction may be a result of immobilization from injury or disease; nerve injury, such as spinal cord damage and stroke; or muscle, tendon, or ligament disease.

— Jeffrey P. Larson, RPT

1. An abnormal, often permanent shortening, as of muscle or scar tissue, that results in distortion or deformity, especially of a joint of the body.
2. A deformity resulting from a contracture.

A permanent shortening, or contraction, of a muscle.

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.

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.

• cauliflower c. — a disfiguring result to scarring after an aural hematoma.
• flexor c. — joint fixed in flexion.
• inherited multiple tendon c. — see inherited multiple tendon contracture.