{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T06:04:57Z","timestamp":1789538697535,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Joint fibrosis is a pathological process characterized by abnormal tissue repair, excessive extracellular matrix deposition, and fibrous adhesions. It can affect multiple joints and cause pain, restricted motion, and functional impairment. Existing research has largely focused on specific joints or surgical procedures, and the overall research landscape and literature distribution across joints have not been systematically characterized.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Scopus and the Web of Science Core Collection were searched using a strategy that combined a fibrosis-specific concept module with a joint anatomy module. After restriction, merging, and deduplication, 1,600 English-language articles and reviews were included. Bibliometric analyses were performed in R using bibliometrix, Biblioshiny, and ggplot2.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Publication output on joint fibrosis increased overall from 2000 to 2025, with an annual growth rate of 9.81%; annual publications rose from 19 in 2000 to 197 in 2025. Author keywords centered on arthrofibrosis and were closely associated with total knee arthroplasty, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, joint stiffness, postoperative complications, and functional recovery. Anatomical classification identified 1,143 knee-related publications, substantially more than for any other joint. Collaboration networks comprised several relatively concentrated author and institutional groups, while the United States occupied a central position in publication output, international collaboration, and the country collaboration network.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Within the available bibliographic data, joint fibrosis research was highly concentrated on the knee and focused primarily on joint arthroplasty, ligament reconstruction, and postoperative functional management. Future research should adopt standardized definitions and outcome measures, expand investigation to underrepresented joints, and integrate mechanistic and prospective clinical studies to improve the diagnosis, prevention, and management of joint fibrosis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1885682","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T05:32:48Z","timestamp":1789536768000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Joint fibrosis research from a multi-joint perspective: a bibliometric analysis, 2000\u20132025"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Lexin","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Key Laboratory of Physical Medicine and Precision Rehabilitation of Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guoyan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Key Laboratory of Physical Medicine and Precision Rehabilitation of Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ge","family":"Lei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Key Laboratory of Physical Medicine and Precision Rehabilitation of Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuzhi","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Key Laboratory of Physical Medicine and Precision Rehabilitation of Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rui","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Key Laboratory of Physical Medicine and Precision Rehabilitation of Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dingqun","family":"Bai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Key Laboratory of Physical Medicine and Precision Rehabilitation of Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weiwei","family":"Yi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Key Laboratory of Physical Medicine and Precision Rehabilitation of Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1080\/03008207.2018.1517759","article-title":"Arthrofibrosis and large joint scarring","volume":"60","author":"Chen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Connect Tissue Res"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1097\/JSA.0000000000000324","article-title":"Arthrofibrosis nightmares: prevention and management strategies","volume":"30","author":"Lee","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sports Med Arthrosc Rev"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1900223","DOI":"10.2106\/JBJS.RVW.19.00223","article-title":"Clinical management of arthrofibrosis: state of the art and therapeutic outlook","volume":"8","author":"Ibrahim","year":"2020","journal-title":"JBJS Rev"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1038\/s41413-019-0047-x","article-title":"Pathological mechanisms and therapeutic outlooks for arthrofibrosis","volume":"7","author":"Usher","year":"2019","journal-title":"Bone Res"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tips.2021.02.007","article-title":"The prognosis of arthrofibroses: prevalence, clinical shortcomings, and future prospects","volume":"42","author":"Blessing","year":"2021","journal-title":"Trends Pharmacol Sci"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1320","DOI":"10.2106\/JBJS.18.01217","article-title":"Acquired idiopathic stiffness after total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"101","author":"Tibbo","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Bone Joint Surg Am"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1479","DOI":"10.1302\/0301-620X.98B10.37957","article-title":"International consensus on the definition and classification of fibrosis of the knee joint","author":"Kalson","year":"2016","journal-title":"Bone Joint J"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1888","DOI":"10.1177\/03635465231192987","article-title":"Acute anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction performed within 10 days of injury does not increase risk of postoperative arthrofibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"52","author":"Aman","year":"2024","journal-title":"Am J Sports Med"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3929","DOI":"10.1007\/s00167-017-4482-1","article-title":"Arthrofibrosis after ACL reconstruction is best treated in a step-wise approach with early recognition and intervention: a systematic review","volume":"25","author":"Ekhtiari","year":"2017","journal-title":"Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ocl.2019.02.005","article-title":"Arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management","volume":"50","author":"Thompson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Orthop Clin North Am"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1253","DOI":"10.1007\/s00264-022-05344-x","article-title":"Treatment of arthrofibrosis and stiffness after total knee arthroplasty: an updated review of the literature","volume":"46","author":"Haffar","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int Orthop"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1177\/1758573216676786","article-title":"Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder: review of pathophysiology and current clinical treatments","volume":"9","author":"Le","year":"2017","journal-title":"Shoulder Elbow"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0215301","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0215301","article-title":"Fibroblast activation and inflammation in frozen shoulder","volume":"14","author":"Akbar","year":"2019","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1186\/s40634-020-00307-w","article-title":"The puzzling pathophysiology of frozen shoulders - a scoping review","volume":"7","author":"Kraal","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Exp Orthop"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"351","DOI":"10.1530\/EOR-23-0039","article-title":"Management of the stiff elbow: a literature review","volume":"8","author":"Siemensma","year":"2023","journal-title":"EFORT Open Rev"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1177\/1758573218793903","article-title":"Post-traumatic elbow stiffness: pathogenesis and current treatments","volume":"12","author":"Zhang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Shoulder Elbow"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2461","DOI":"10.3390\/biomedicines11092461","article-title":"Adhesive capsulitis of the ankle (frozen ankle): an infrequent syndrome","volume":"11","author":"Aguilar-N\u00fa\u00f1ez","year":"2023","journal-title":"Biomedicines"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"37679","DOI":"10.52965\/001c.37679","article-title":"Adhesive capsulitis of the hip: a case presentation and review","volume":"14","author":"Eberlin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Orthop Rev (Pavia)"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.5371\/hp.2025.37.3.171","article-title":"Adhesive capsulitis of the hip: clinical features, diagnosis, and management","volume":"37","author":"Yoon","year":"2025","journal-title":"Hip Pelvis"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20058","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-023-47498-7","article-title":"Continuous detrimental activity of intra-articular fibrous scar tissue in correlation with posttraumatic ankle osteoarthritis","volume":"13","author":"Tran","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"RA111","DOI":"10.12659\/msm.881755","article-title":"Management of temporomandibular ankylosis\u2013compromise or individualization\u2013a literature review","volume":"17","author":"Sporniak-Tutak","year":"2011","journal-title":"Med Sci Monit"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1014","DOI":"10.3390\/encyclopedia4020065","article-title":"Bibliometric analysis: the main steps","volume":"4","author":"Passas","year":"2024","journal-title":"Encyclopedia"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"959","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joi.2017.08.007","article-title":"bibliometrix: an R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis","volume":"11","author":"Aria","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Informetr"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1382","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.21525","article-title":"Science mapping software tools: review, analysis, and cooperative study among tools","volume":"62","author":"Cobo","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1809","DOI":"10.1007\/s11192-015-1645-z","article-title":"The bibliometric analysis of scholarly production: how great is the impact?","volume":"105","author":"Ellegaard","year":"2015","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-24277-4","volume-title":"ggplot2: Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis","author":"Wickham","year":"2016"},{"key":"B27","first-page":"373","volume-title":"Science Mapping Analysis: A Primer with Biblioshiny","author":"Aria","year":"2026"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2604","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arth.2017.02.005","article-title":"Arthrofibrosis associated with total knee arthroplasty","volume":"32","author":"Cheuy","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Arthroplasty"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e216","DOI":"10.5435\/JAAOS-D-22-00430","article-title":"High complication rate associated with arthroscopic Lysis of adhesions versus manipulation under anesthesia for arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty","volume":"31","author":"Thomas","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Am Acad Orthop Surg"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1075","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arth.2023.10.021","article-title":"Low-dose irradiation and rotating-hinge revision for the treatment of severe idiopathic arthrofibrosis following total knee arthroplasty: a review of 60 patients with a mean 6-year follow-up","volume":"39","author":"Schneider","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Arthroplasty"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1859","DOI":"10.1007\/s00167-023-07353-8","article-title":"Revision total knee arthroplasty for arthrofibrosis improves range of motion","volume":"31","author":"Rockov","year":"2023","journal-title":"Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100896","DOI":"10.1016\/j.asmr.2024.100896","article-title":"Manipulation under anesthesia and lysis of adhesions are the most commonly reported treatments for arthrofibrosis of the knee after arthroscopy or anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in both pediatric and adult patients","volume":"6","author":"Reddy","year":"2024","journal-title":"Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jor.2022.10.008","article-title":"Biochemical markers of postsurgical knee arthrofibrosis: a systematic review","volume":"35","author":"Wyatt","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Orthop"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"178645","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejphar.2026.178645","article-title":"When healing turns fibrotic: exploring molecular mechanisms and therapeutic strategies for knee arthrofibrosis","volume":"1017","author":"Nikolic","year":"2026","journal-title":"Eur J Pharmacol"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103194","DOI":"10.1016\/j.msksp.2024.103194","article-title":"Effectiveness of conservative treatment in the management of post-traumatic elbow stiffness: a systematic review","volume":"74","author":"Piacenza","year":"2024","journal-title":"Musculoskelet Sci Pract"},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1643326","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2025.1643326","article-title":"Post-traumatic elbow stiffness: etiology, risk factors and current treatments","volume":"12","author":"Fan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Surg"},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2383","DOI":"10.1007\/s00402-022-04442-0","article-title":"Surgical arthrolysis of the stiff elbow: a systematic review","volume":"143","author":"Lanzerath","year":"2023","journal-title":"Arch Orthop Trauma Surg"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1248612","DOI":"10.3389\/fphys.2024.1248612","article-title":"A new perspective of frozen shoulder pathology; the interplay between the brain and the immune system","volume":"15","author":"Navarro-Ledesma","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Physiol"},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"598","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjmed.2026.01.021","article-title":"Frozen shoulder: diagnosis and treatment of adhesive capsulitis","volume":"139","author":"Achilova","year":"2026","journal-title":"Am J Med"},{"key":"B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e37199","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.37199","article-title":"The incidence of postoperative shoulder stiffness after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: a systematic review","volume":"15","author":"Baumann","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2325967119854362","DOI":"10.1177\/2325967119854362","article-title":"Arthroscopic diagnosis and treatment of chronic hip pain after total hip arthroplasty and the role of anterior capsule disruption in iliopsoas tendinopathy","volume":"7","author":"Nazal","year":"2019","journal-title":"Orthop J Sports Med"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Surgery"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1885682\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T05:32:49Z","timestamp":1789536769000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1885682\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"references-count":41,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1885682"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1885682","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-875X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-875X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"article-number":"1885682"}}