The indications for physiotherapy after supracondylar humeral fractures in children are not clear in the literature, even if there is an active and passive limitation of the range of motion of the elbow joint. Therefore, we performed a prospective randomized study in order to assess the effectiveness of physiotherapy in improving the elbow range of movements. We studied two groups of 21 and 22 children with supracondylar humeral fractures type Felsenreich II or III, who did not have any neurovascular deficits. All children were treated by open reduction internal fixation with Kirschner wires inserted from the radial side of the humerus. Postoperative follow up at 12 and 18 weeks showed a significantly better result in the range of movements in the group that had weekly physiotherapy. Nevertheless, there were no differences in either group in the range of motion of the elbow joint after one year. In each group, one child had an extension deficit of 15 degrees and 20 degrees respectively. We conclude that physiotherapy is not effective postoperatively in children with supracondylar humeral fractures without neurovascular injuries.

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