The end of this month marks Arthrogryposis Awareness Day!
What is Arthrogryposis?
Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC) describes a congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body. Any joint can be affected such as feet, shoulders, wrists, hands, jaw, and spine. "Children born with one or more joint contractures have abnormal fibrosis of the muscle tissue causing muscle shortening, and therefore are unable to perform active extension and flexion in the affected joint or joints." (source Wikipedia)
These joint contractures occur 1 in every 3,000 live births and are divided into three groups: amyoplasia, distal arthrogryposis, and syndromic. There are over 400 types of arthrogryposis, it is non-curable, can be related to other syndromes and underlying conditions and also is linked to lack of fetal movement in utero.
Though difficult to do typical everyday tasks, most children born with arthrogryposis grow into successful, independent adults with help from occupational and speech therapies, splinting, and surgeries.
Search your closets and help raise awareness for AMC by wearing blue on June 30th! Other ways you can help are to use the hashtag #blueforAMC, visit amcsupport.org to learn more, and share posts with AMC facts to your social media pages.
One of our absolute favorite videos we've received from a customer is this video of Kori self feeding with EazyHold. Kori was born with arthrogryposis and she uses the pink EazyHold to help self feed ... she did an incredible job practicing with her occupational therapist, don't you think?
