Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita Support, Inc.

Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita Support, Inc. (AMCSI) is a 501(c)(3) voluntary organization whose mission is to provide and encourage more understanding and mutual support among anyone affected with the diagnosis of arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) and to create a higher standard of AMC awareness by means of conferences, meetings, and studies. AMCSI also strives to provide educational material to new parents, or soon-to-be parents, about AMC and to be a resource of information to the medical field to include, but not limited to, occupational and physical therapists to assist them in the treatment of a child or person with the diagnosis of AMC. Arthrogryposis is a general or descriptive term for the development of nonprogressive contractures affecting one or more areas of the body. A contracture is a condition in which a joint becomes permanently fixed in a bent (flexed) or straightened (extended) position, completely or partially restricting the movement of the affected joint. When congenital contractures occur only in one body area, it is not referred to as arthrogryposis but rather an isolated congenital contracture. The most common form of an isolated congenital contracture is clubfoot. When arthrogryposis affects two or more different areas of the body, it is referred to as arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC).