Serial casting is a procedure that is geared to help improve a patient’s range of movement in a joint that can’t be flexed or extended, potentially caused because the muscle connected to a joint is too short or tight.

Serial casting uses multiple casts to gradually turn the joint farther in the direction it needs to go.

The first cast holds the joint in a position where it stretches the muscle just a little. A week later, a new cast is applied. This one turns the joint a little more so that it pulls the muscle farther. Each week, a fresh cast increases the stretch.

When the muscle gets stretched over a period of weeks, it adds cells that make it longer and more flexible with the ultimate goal of increasing range of motion and correcting neutral position.