Strength function after elbow arthroplasty.

A prospective study of elbow strength after total elbow joint arthroplasty was conducted in 27 patients (31 procedures). In this overall group, flexion strength improved 92%, pronation, 63%, and supination, 69%. Grip strength improved 35%, but there was no mean improvement in extension strength among these patients. After 27 procedures for rheumatoid arthritis, the average strength improvement of all five functions was 71% compared to a 25% improvement in four patients with nonrheumatoid involvement. Placement of the prosthetic axis of rotation proximal or anterior to the normal axis was associated with consistently poorer strength. The sample was too small to distinguish performance among prosthetic types, but the triceps-sparing approach showed consistently better strength in extension (averaging 20%) than did the other exposures.