OBJECTIVETo investigate the etiology of posttraumatic elbow stiffness and distinguish features of the patients by retrospective analyzing their records.

METHODSThis was a retrospective analysis of 553 patients with posttraumatic elbow stiffness who underwent arthrolysis performed in Beijing Jishuitan Hospital from January 1997 to December 2013. The patients' clinical and radiographic results were collected, and encoded into a survey database.

RESULTSTotal 366 male and 189 female patients were treated by the same treating team. The average age of 553 cases was 35 years (12-76 years). And the largest number of >30-40 years old group was 166 (30.8%). There were 301 cases (54.4%) causing by low-energy injury and 227 cases (41.1%) by high-energy injury. The patients of extra-articular fractures and injuries were 60 cases (10.8%) with average 6.1 weeks' immobilization, and the patients of intra-articular fractures or dislocations were 493 cases (89%) with average 4.9 weeks' immobilization. The mean range of motion of extension and flexion was 30° (0°-110°). Four hundreds and fifty-seven patients (82.6%) were diagnosed with Heterotopic Ossification (HO), the other 96 patients without HO.

CONCLUSIONSElbow stiffness commonly occurs following trauma. More attention needs to pay on the treatment procedures for minor injuries, extra-articular fractures and simple intra-articular fractures. It is not appropriate to immobilize the elbow more than 3 weeks, even for those complicated elbow fracture and dislocation. Heterotopic ossification has significant negative impact on the function of elbow. However its pathogenesis is still not clear, which need more fundamental research.