Heterotopic ossification may occur due to forcible physical therapy
Ebru Atalar1
, Tolga Tolunay2
1Department of Rheumatology, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
Keywords: Elbow trauma, heterotopic ossification, passive range of motion, rehabilitation, soft tissue injuries
Abstract
In this article, heterotopic ossification (HO) that developed during the rehabilitation of a 13-year-old male patient who had undergone surgical treatment for a radial head fracture is discussed. In our case, while the operation and the postoperative period were uneventful, the pain of the patient increased during the rehabilitation, and the limitation of motion in the elbow did not improve. In addition, signs of ulnar nerve compression developed. Heterotopic ossification areas containing the periosteum in the supracondylar region were observed on the elbow radiograph. In experimental animal studies, the HO model is induced by performing strenuous exercises in the period following immobilization. We wanted to emphasize that the process of HO development in our case is similar to the development of HO in the experimental model and that strenuous exercises may cause HO development in fracture rehabilitation.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.