What Is a Muscle Contracture

Muscular dystrophy is a group of hereditary neuromuscular diseases characterized by muscle weakness and waste. The lack of nerve input to the muscles makes them stiff and tight, which inhibits the functional extent of movement needed to move the joints and activate the muscles to move the arms and legs. Treatment may include physical therapy, medications, and braces. Surgery may be helpful for certain types of contractures. Electrical stimulation improves passive range of motion, but only temporarily. [1] Once the treatment is removed, all benefits are reduced. It can play a crucial role in preventing muscle atrophy. Prevention of muscle atrophy associated with prolonged immobilization Skeletal muscle contractures represent the permanent shortening of a muscle-tendon unit that occurs when soft tissues lose their elasticity and cannot be stretched passively or by antagonistic muscles. A contracture is probably the most clinically significant consequence of the alteration of passive mechanical properties in muscle, which is the subject of this special issue. Contractures can occur due to an upper motor neuron injury such as stroke, head trauma or cerebral palsy (CP) or muscle disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy or muscular dystrophy. In such conditions, immobilization, muscle weakness or paralysis with or without spasticity are key factors that lead to the development of contractures. The resulting structural changes, which are described in more detail below, lead to tissues that are stiffer than normal muscles and can eventually limit joint mobility, leading to deformities. If the deformity begins to affect the quality of life and conservative treatments such as movement exercises, splints and neurotoxin injections fail, surgery is indicated.

A number of surgical procedures are used to relieve muscle contracture and deformity: muscle tendon lengthening, muscle relief, fascial and aonoeurotic transsection, and aponeurectomy with or without skin dilation (Table 1). These procedures lengthen the tendon in series with the muscle to allow joint movements, free the tendon from its introduction or prolong the fascia and distribute the area of insertion of the muscle. When the contracture is released during surgery, the muscle tissue retracts, creating a surgical space (Fig. 1A), the extent of which varies with the particular operation. The space may remain on a new length on the surrounding connective tissue or be sutured, resulting in a permanent change in the length of the muscle-tendon unit. Thus, all operations allow the shortening of the muscles, while the connective tissue in series lengthens. Surgeons choose the respective approach based on the functional needs of the patient and the surgeon`s previous experience. Over the past 20 years, such surgeries have given us a unique opportunity to study the adaptation of human muscle tissue to contracture. In this review, we summarize some of our key findings. The reader is also referred to other representations of neural aspects related to muscle stiffness (51, 62).

To confirm a diagnosis of contracture, your doctor may also order imaging tests, such as: Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect mobility and are caused by damage to the upper motor neuron. Cerebral palsy is present at birth and is the most common motor disability in children. It causes cognitive impairment, decreased muscle strength, and problems with movement, coordination, and functional movements such as walking. Intraoperative measurement of the dramatic increase in the length of the sarcoma in muscle contractures. A: Intraoperative view of the anterior elbow of a person with elbow contracture as a result of brain damage due to prenatal cytomegalovirus infection. This image shows the gap created by the surgical release (cutting of the anterior fascia of the brachialis muscle and the intramuscular tendon bundles and the distal tendon of the biceps brachii) before the extension of the stair step. These releases allow a passive stretching of the elbow and therefore a basic activity of the functions of daily life such as self-sufficiency, feeding and driving in a wheelchair. Intraoperative length of the sarcomere was measured by laser flexion (17, 38) in the upper limb muscles of children with cerebral palsy (CP) or typically developing children (TD) or patients with radial nerve damage: carpi ulnaris flexor muscle (B), soleus muscle (C), gracilis muscle (D) and semitendinosus muscle (E). (Data for references 35, 46 and 66 have been redrawn.) The data represent ± SE, n = 6–10 subjects/group.

No error bar is provided for TD sarcomer lengths in D or E, as these are individual estimates of sarcomere length based on a mathematical model. Muscle contractures, or muscle tissue that is stiffer than normal and difficult to stretch, is caused by a permanent shortening of muscle fibers and a change in normal muscle structure. The most obvious intracellular cause of altered passive mechanical properties of individual muscle fibers is the huge intramuscular protein titin (30). A previous study showed that the special isoform of cardiac titin, expressed, could change in response to an altered rhythm (55), so it was conceivable that impaired neuronal activity associated with upper motor neuron damage could alter the isoform expression of titin in skeletal muscle. We quantified the isoform mass of titin in each of the semiteninous muscles, gracilis, gastrocnemius and soleus and found no significant change or increase in titin mass in the CP muscle compared to the TD muscle (Fig. 2B, see ref. 44 and 66), which would have indicated a change in isoform (note the low variability of titration measurements in Fig. 2B). On the contrary, one would expect that the increase in titin mass decreases muscle stiffness, which has never been observed. In addition, we observed a decrease in the length of the flaccid sarcomere in the muscles of the upper limbs, measured by isolated fibers as the length at which the strength of the muscle fibers is zero (18, 37).

Given most studies on titin, this would also indicate a decrease in titin size, contrary to what has been measured. Future studies are needed to determine the structural basis of the altered length of the flaccid sarcomere. The signs are specific to the affected muscle or muscle group. Injuries to muscles or tendons can lead to contractures as scar tissue grows and muscle fibers and joints connect with each other. This development considerably restricts the movement. Large burns can also cause contractures in the skin, muscles and joints. Without aggressive treatment, range of motion can be significantly restricted and these changes can become irreversible. Indications – Any patient in whom an improved motor and sensory muscle response would contribute to a better performance of his own voluntary actions Knowing the changes in cell populations in muscle contracture would allow a deeper understanding of the experiments conducted on muscles in cerebral palsy. Flow cytometry has long been used in blood and liquid tissues to quantify cell populations, but has recently been applied to enzymatically digested muscle tissue to enable the analysis of mononuclear cells (Montarras et al. 2005). Although this method is unable to isolate mature muscle fibers, it can identify and purify mononuclear cell populations to study their role in muscle tissue.

Mononuclear cells of muscle, including fibroblasts, macrophages, endothelial cells (Fig. 6.15) and others, may be quantified with appropriate marking. Knowledge of the cells present in muscle tissue can provide information about the tissue components that contribute to the development of contracture; For example, is the observed fibrosis the result of more fibroblasts in the muscle? Recent articles on mouse muscles show that a new cell population capable of differentiating into fibroblasts, adipocytes or even supporting muscle recovery (Joe et al., 2010; Uezumi et al., 2010). It is also possible to study the population of satellite cells resident in a muscle directly responsible for muscle recovery and growth. Only flow cytometry studies conducted on human muscles show that the satellite cell population increases with eccentric exercise (McKay et al., 2010). The onset of HD syndrome triggers the release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscles, resulting in muscle contracture and increased cellular metabolism with heat and lactate production (Rosenberg et al., 2007). Increased carbon dioxide production leads to hypercarbia, rapid deep breathing, and increased CO2 concentrations at terminal tide. The carbon dioxide absorber in a post-breathing anesthesia circuit is very hot, and the granules quickly develop an intense indicator color. The release of catecholamines causes an initial increase in blood pressure with tachycardia and multifocal ventricular dysrhythmias. Hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis develop, and in some cases the pH can drop to less than 6.80.

The skin of white pigs becomes red and white. Signs of advanced HD in most pigs include generalized muscle stiffness with finger spread and a strong and sustained increase in body temperature up to 42.2°C (108°F) (Fig. 14.3). Ultimately, the animal becomes hypoxic and usually dies without treatment. In pigs, the signs observed during the early development of HD syndrome are likely to be caused by HD, but in dogs, several differential diagnoses should be taken into account (see Chapter 2, Table 2.9). The exact identification of HD depends on the presence of clinical symptoms, and the more signs there are, the more likely the patient is to have HD (Box 14.1). Congenital choking contracture produces suffocation hyperextension, in which the distal femur and proximal tibia bend backwards (genu recurvatum). .