Ankle Arthritis
Arthritis is a chronic condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints of many over the age of 50. Arthritis can form in the ankle when the ankle has damaged or worn cartilage.
Ankle arthritis can be a serious condition that causes pain in every step you take and can cause the ankle to lock up, severely limiting one's mobility. The ankle is composed of three bones, the tibia, fibula and talus.
These three bones come together to create the connecting joint between the leg and foot. Arthritis can form in any of these ankle bones and can occur as a part of rheumatoid arthritis or stem from a physical injury.
Treatments
The current, most common treatment option for dealing with ankle arthritis is medication. Arthritis medications work to slow pain and stiffness, prevent joint damage and relieve inflammation. Many anti-inflammatory medications can be purchased over-the-counter and are used for all types of arthritis, not just in the foot and ankle.
Analgesics are commonly prescribed medications that focus only on relieving pain and are used to treat many forms of arthritis and injuries. For patients with more serious conditions, medications may not be enough and surgery may be necessary. An ankle fusion is a procedure done to ease pain by removing the surface of the joint affected by arthritis and using screws and bolts to join bones until they fuse together.
While this procedure is effective in reducing pain in the ankle, it also reduces mobility by keeping the ankle from moving side-to-side and up-and-down.
New Technology
A new procedure can now ease pain from ankle arthritis without limiting the ankle's mobility. Total ankle replacement is done by removing the damaged bone and cartilage through a surgical cut in the ankle and replacing it with prosthetic parts.
These replacement ankle parts are expected to last around 20 years. Since 2012, the number of total ankle replacement surgeries has doubled as doctors have become more accustomed with the procedure and patients spread positive word of mouth.
Jonathan Deland, MD, Co-Chief of Foot and Ankle Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery says, "The new ankle replacement provides very good range of motion due to a surgical approach from the side of the ankle and curved joint surfaces that are more like those of a normal ankle."