Regaining Elbow Motion After Trauma: A Noninferiority Trial of App-Guided Training and a Systematic Review of Stretching and Splinting

Physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and certified hand therapists who manage elbow motion loss after fracture, dislocation or surgical contracture release, and who want a plain-language account of what the current trial and review evidence reports.

Licensed physical therapists, physical therapist assistants working under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist, and certified hand therapists in outpatient orthopedic, hand and post-surgical settings.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

Wang Y, Huang L, Wang R, Xu Z, Ma Y, Yu S, Ding J, Shen Y, Lu S. Digital Physiotherapeutic Elbow-Specific Training System for Patients After Arthroscopic Release of Elbow Contracture: Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2026;14:e87459. doi:10.2196/87459

Wistow G, Newman M, Hannink E, Barker KL. Investigating the effectiveness of stretching interventions on post-traumatic elbow stiffness: a systematic review. JSES Int. 2025;9(6):2146-2155. doi:10.1016/j.jseint.2025.06.015

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what the noninferiority randomized trial reported about elbow flexion-extension motion, patient-reported function, adherence, safety and cost when app-guided home training replaced supervised outpatient training after arthroscopic release for post-traumatic elbow stiffness.
2. State what the systematic review reported about hold-relax manual stretching and bracing for post-traumatic elbow stiffness, including which approach its authors linked to early stiffness, which to persistent stiffness, and where adverse events clustered.
3. Distinguish the surgical and nonsurgical populations described in the two papers and explain where their findings agree, where they diverge, and what each set of authors concluded about regaining elbow motion.

1. Start Here: The Clinical Question and How This Course Is Built
2. Part One: App-Guided Training After Arthroscopic Release for Elbow Contracture
3. Who Was Studied: Adults Undergoing Arthroscopic Release for a Stiff Elbow
4. How the Trial Was Run: Digital Training Versus Clinic-Based Sessions
5. What the Trial Found: Motion, Function, Adherence, Safety and Cost
6. Cautions the Trial Authors Raised and What They Concluded
7. Part Two: Stretching and Bracing for Post-Traumatic Elbow Stiffness
8. The Problem the Review Set Out to Address
9. How the Review Searched, Screened and Appraised the Evidence
10. What the Review Found for Hold-Relax Stretching and for Bracing
11. Small Studies, Missing Data and the Reviewers' Conclusions
12. Bringing It Together
13. Where the Two Papers Agree About Regaining Elbow Motion
14. Where They Diverge: Different Patients, Different Interventions, Different Certainty
15. At the Treatment Table: Delivery Mode, Supervision and the Physical Therapist Assistant's Role
16. What Remains Open in the Evidence
17. Key Takeaways
18. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 1.0 contact hour (60 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. Wang Y, Huang L, Wang R, Xu Z, Ma Y, Yu S, Ding J, Shen Y, Lu S. Digital Physiotherapeutic Elbow-Specific Training System for Patients After Arthroscopic Release of Elbow Contracture: Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2026;14:e87459. doi:10.2196/87459
2. Wistow G, Newman M, Hannink E, Barker KL. Investigating the effectiveness of stretching interventions on post-traumatic elbow stiffness: a systematic review. JSES Int. 2025;9(6):2146-2155. doi:10.1016/j.jseint.2025.06.015