Akeson immobilized dog knee joints for 1–12 weeks using internal fixation and measured water and hexosamine concentrations in synovial membrane, capsule, tendon, meniscus, skin, and fascia to determine whether biochemical changes in periarticular connective tissues underlie the development of joint contracture.
When a joint has been immobilized for even a few weeks, measurable loss of ground substance (mucopolysaccharide) has already occurred in capsule and tendon — this is the biochemical basis for early mobilization protocols.
The longer immobilization persists, the more these changes compound with slowly accumulating new collagen deposition, making contracture progressively harder to reverse.
Akeson immobilized dog knee joints for 1–12 weeks using internal fixation and measured water and hexosamine concentrations in synovial membrane, capsule, tendon, meniscus, skin, and fascia to determine whether biochemical changes in periarticular connective tissues underlie the development of joint contracture.
When a joint has been immobilized for even a few weeks, measurable loss of ground substance (mucopolysaccharide) has already occurred in capsule and tendon — this is the biochemical basis for early mobilization protocols.
The longer immobilization persists, the more these changes compound with slowly accumulating new collagen deposition, making contracture progressively harder to reverse.