No evidence of benefits from stretch for the treatment and prevention of contractures

There is high-quality evidence that stretch does not have clinically important effects on joint mobility in people, with or without neurological conditions, if performed for less than 7 months. The effects of stretch performed for periods longer than 7 months was not investigated. There is moderate and high-quality evidence that stretch does not have clinically important short-term effects on quality of life or pain, respectively, in people with non-neurological conditions. The short-term effects of stretch on quality of life and pain in people with neurological conditions, and the short-term effects of stretch on activity limitations and participation restrictions for people with and without neurological conditions, are uncertain. Some of the conditions contained in this review included people with fracture, stroke, brain injury, arthritis or burns. The outcomes of interest were joint mobility, quality of life, pain, activity limitations, participation restrictions, spasticity and adverse events. The stretch was administered in a variety of different ways, including through passive stretching (self-administered, therapist-administered and device-administered), positioning, splinting and serial casting.