1. Bone growth increases the knee flexion contracture angle: A study using rats 
Guy Trudel, MD, MSc, Susan H. Kilborn, DVM, DVSc, Hans K. Uhthoff, MD 
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 
Volume 82, Issue 5, Pages (May 2001)
DOI: /apmr
Copyright © 2001 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Terms and Conditions

2. Fig. 1
Bone measurement on radiographs. Femur length was measured on its longitudinal axis from the femoral condyle to the projection of the superior border of the femoral head. The tibia length was measured on its longitudinal axis from the tibial plateau to the posterior malleolus.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  , DOI: ( /apmr )
Copyright © 2001 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Terms and Conditions

3. Fig. 2
Microphotographs of tibias of (A) 3-month- and (B) 11-month-old rats. Although the alignment of chondrocytes and thickness are decreased in the older growth plate, hypertrophic chondrocytes can still be seen. Direct red and Alcian blue stain, original magnification 66×.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  , DOI: ( /apmr )
Copyright © 2001 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Terms and Conditions

4. Fig. 3
Correlation between growth in bone length and immobilization angle at 5 time points after knee joint immobilization. Error bar = 1 SEM.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  , DOI: ( /apmr )
Copyright © 2001 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Terms and Conditions

5. Fig. 4
Bone length in the rat. Femur and tibia grew over time. The bones of the experimental group showed increased growth compared with the control group. * p <.05; error bar = 1 SEM.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  , DOI: ( /apmr )
Copyright © 2001 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Terms and Conditions

6. Fig. 5
Rate of growth of rat femur and tibia. (A) Femur. (B) Tibia. The rate of growth in bone length decreased in experimental and control groups in a pattern similar to the rate of weight gain of the animal.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  , DOI: ( /apmr )
Copyright © 2001 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Terms and Conditions

7. Fig. 6
Illustration of the mechanism by which growth in bone length caused an increase in the immobilization angle in a model of rat knee joint contracture. Top: Initial immobilization and status after growth in bone length of the distal femur and proximal tibia. Bottom: Schematic representation of the effects of bone growth on immobilization angle. Despite rigid immobilization, bone growth resulted in an increased immobilization angle. α1 is the angle at the onset of immobilization; α2 is the angle at the end of the immobilization period.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  , DOI: ( /apmr )
Copyright © 2001 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Terms and Conditions