Contractures Resulting From Burn Scar Tissue Clinical Trial
Official title:
Assessment of Joint Range of Motion and Cutaneous Functional Unit Recruitment: Association With Burn Scar Characteristics
The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between cutaneous functional unit(CFU)recruitment throughout the available active range of motion of a prescribed joint in normal subjects and patients with burn scars. Specifically, this study will determine if differences in CFU recruitment exist between normal subjects and individuals with burn scars at the dorsal hand, dorsal or volar forearm, or anterior or posterior arm during active range of motion of the MCP joint during flexion, or the wrist or elbow during flexion or extension, respectively.
Specific Aim #1: To establish the relationship between joint position and skin recruitment,
expressed as the percentage of CFU recruited during active ROM, in patients with burn scars
and normal controls.
Specific Aim #2: To establish the within-day and between-day reliability of percent CFU
estimation and absolute skin recruitment, measured in millimeters from a fixed reference,
during active ROM for a specified joint.
Specific Aim #3: To establish the relationship between scar height, measured by diagnostic
ultrasound, scar cross-sectional area, and percent CFU recruitment in individuals with burn
scar.
Specific Aim #4: To determine whether the amount of skin recruitment, expressed as the
percent of the CFU recruited during active ROM, is differentially affected by burn scar.
Ho: There is no difference in the percent CFU recruited at the completion of active range of
motion at a specified joint between individuals with burn scars and normal controls.
Ha: Individuals with burn scars recruit a greater percentage of the CFU in order to obtain
maximal range of motion at a specified joint.
Specific Aim #5: To determine whether the timing of skin recruitment, expressed as the
initiation of skin movement within a CFU relative to joint position during active ROM, is
differentially affected by burn scar.
Ho: There is no difference in the initiation of skin movement within a CFU relative to joint
position during active ROM at a specified joint between individuals with burn scars and
normal controls.
Ha: In individuals with burn scars in a given CFU, skin movement farther from the joint axis
occurs earlier in the range of motion compared to controls.
Specific Aim #6: To determine whether skin extensibility within a CFU during active ROM of a
specified joint is differentially affected by burn scar.
Ho: There is no difference skin extensibility within a CFU during active ROM of a specified
joint between individuals with burn scars and normal controls.
Ha: In individuals with burn scars in a given CFU, skin near the joint axis undergoes
greater deformation (stretch) as range of motion at the joint increases compared to
controls.
;
Time Perspective: Prospective