2005 Volume 20 Issue 4 Pages 279-282
We studied the effects of treadmill running on preventing joint contractures due to joint immobilization. Female Wistar rats (10 weeks old) were used in this study. The ankle joint was immobilized in full plantar flexion with a cast for two weeks. For 5 rats, the casts were removed daily, and treadmill running (20 min.) was performed once a day (treadmill running group). In 10 rats, the ankles were immobilized without treadmill running (immobilized group). As a control, 10 rats were also used. After two weeks, the rats were anesthetized, and the range of motion of the ankle joint was measured with a goniometer. Joint contractures occurred not only in the immobilized group but also in the treadmill running group, but the degree of the contracture was not as bad in the treadmill running group as in the immobilized group. As a result, we concluded that treadmill running done under the above conditions could not prevent joint contractures of immobilized ankles in rats.
