Joint stiffness commonly develops as a result of prolonged immobilization. If you temporarily lose the ability to move a joint—following injury, surgery, or severe illness—the soft tissues surrounding the joint may “remodel” or shorten in response to the decreased demands you place on them. The result is joint stiffness and limited range of motion.

Unfortunately, joint stiffness often remains after the original injury or surgery has healed. This is unhealthy for joint tissues, and greatly restricts your ability to carry out normal functions with the involved limb. Therapy is often needed to restretch the surrounding tissues and restore range of motion. Joint Active Systems devices provide home stretch therapy to assist in restoring joint motion. You can learn more about therapeutic options for restoring joint motion in the How JAS Works section.