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Early oral celecoxib prevents contracture and modulates capsular fibrosis in a validated model of post-traumatic arthrofibrosis
Luis Palacios-Díaz, Blanca Diez Sánchez, Ángel González-García, Pablo Sanchez-Urgelles, Samuel Antuña, Raul Barco, Department of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid 28046, Spain
Eva Manuela Pena-Burgos, Pathology Department, Gregorio Marañón University Hospital, Madrid 28007, Spain
José Juan Pozo-Kreilinger, Pathology Department, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid 28046, Spain
MT Carrascal-Morillo, Alejandro Bustos, Department of Mechanics, School of Industrial Engineering, UNED, Madrid 28040, Spain
Author contributions: Palacios-Díaz L, Antuña S, and Barco R conceived and designed the study; Palacios-Díaz L, Diez Sánchez B, González-García Á, and Sanchez-Urgelles P performed the experiments and data collection; Pena-Burgos EM and Pozo-Kreilinger JJ conducted the histological analysis; Carrascal-Morillo MT and Bustos A performed the biomechanical analysis; Palacios-Díaz L and González-García Á analyzed the data; Palacios-Díaz L drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision and approved the final version.
AI contribution statement: ChatGPT was used solely to assist with language editing and improvement of the manuscript’s readability. The authors were entirely responsible for the study conception and design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript content, and responses to reviewers. All AI-assisted text was carefully reviewed, edited, and approved by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final content of the manuscript.
Supported by SECEC 17th Basic Research Grant; and SECOT Ayudas a Investigación en COT 2024.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: This study was approved by the Animal Experimentation Committee at La Paz University Hospital (approval No. PROEX 227.6/23; 29/09/2023).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Luis Palacios-Díaz, Department of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, La Paz University Hospital, Paseo de la castellana 291, Madrid 28031, Spain.
Received: March 18, 2026
Revised: April 9, 2026
Accepted: June 8, 2026
Published online: July 18, 2026
Processing time: 115 Days and 16.6 Hours
Revised: April 9, 2026
Accepted: June 8, 2026
Published online: July 18, 2026
Processing time: 115 Days and 16.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Post-traumatic arthrofibrosis remains a challenging condition with limited preventive strategies. In this rat model, celecoxib reduced capsular fibrosis and improved biomechanical outcomes, suggesting a potential disease-modifying effect on fibrotic remodeling rather than solely providing symptomatic relief. These findings support further investigation of celecoxib as a preventive intervention for post-traumatic joint contracture and provide a rationale for future translational and clinical studies.