About Us

As a young clinician nearly 30 years ago, I (RuthAnn Fanstone, creator of Dr Contracture) was introduced to burn injuries in a rural hospital in India. I was deeply struck by the level of need, suffering, pain, and bravery that I witnessed. At the time I had no knowledge or experience in burn care, I just knew that the level of suffering experienced by patients was not acceptable. I began to travel around India to learn about how to care for burn patients. I implemented my learning as much as possible within a very low resource, rural setting where patients had very scarce funds to contribute to treatment. Burn care is expensive, and for the individuals burnt, scarring and contractures can make it difficult to recoup lost funds; the cycle of poverty deepens .

From that point onwards, burn injuries left an indelible mark on me and directed the rest of my career.

I went on to work at and visit many of the leading burn services in the world and also experienced many healthcare settings where there was minimal or no burn care. So far I have met or treated 1000’s of burn patients and survivors in many different environments. I was left with many questions, but one in particular – why is it that in some settings I see very few contractures, and in others large numbers of contractures that are very severe? This observation formed the basis of my Doctoral work, examining risk factors for burn contractures in a lower income country.

Dr Contracture is based on a deep belief that contractures are preventable – therefore the suffering that so often accompanies contractures is also preventable. Dr Contracture exists for the people with contractures in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) who have very little voice to stop the contractures that happen to them, despite the huge effect a contracture(s) has on them, their family and communities. The inequality of burn care incidence and outcomes across the globe is unacceptable, and the difference in the prevalence and severity of contractures serves as an indicator of huge inequality. The presence of a contracture indicates that there is an opportunity to improve something somewhere in the broader healthcare and social system. Join us to eradicate contractures, a marker of global inequality.