Research Articles

When ankle pain from osteoarthritis is severe, function is low, and conservative care isn't helping, surgeons turn to a fusion procedure known as an arthrodesis. There are two ways to do this surgery: ...more
You have probably heard of the "seven deadly sins" and if you watched Mickey Mouse cartoons, you may have even seen Disney's version of "killing seven with one blow." But you probably haven't seen the ...more
Severe ankle arthritis is less common than hip or knee arthritis but just as disabling. So say researchers at the VA Medical Center in Seattle Washington. Researchers from the Mechanical Engineering a ...more
In this study, surgeons measured the frequency, intensity, and sports choices of recreational sports athletes following bone grafting for an ankle injury. In all cases, the athletes had sprained their ...more
Ankle sprain is a common injury in athletes as well as the active adult. Most of the time, the ankle heals with a little care (rest, taping, ice). But one rare complication of lateral ankle sprains is ...more
Fifteen years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of an injection of hyaluronic acid for knee arthritis. It has been used ever since for the effective relief of arthritis pain ...more
Physical Therapistsand athletic trainers working with high school football players are concerned about the high number of players benched because of ankle injuries. They conducted this study to compar ...more
Most people have heard of the condition known as a frozen shoulder. The medical term for a "frozen" joint is adhesive capsulitis. The diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis can apply to any joint that is pa ...more
All of the major joints can be replaced now: the shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle. Surgeons have the most practice with hips and knees. Ankles remain more difficult because of the complexity of the join ...more
What do you do if you have severe pain from an arthritic ankle and you aren't a good candidate for surgery? You need relief from the pain and some way to improve function in that ankle. You are overwe ...more
In this review and update, orthopedic surgeons at Duke University Medical Center take a look at the results of ankle joint replacement called total ankle arthroplasty or TAA. They present a thorough e ...more
Problems that develop after surgery for joint replacement can include heterotopic ossification (bone forms in soft tissue where it doesn't belong). This complication is not uncommon after hip and knee ...more
The diagnosis: acute Achilles tendon rupture. The treatment: minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The result: complications! The final outcome: that's what this report is all about. Surgeons in The Nethe ...more
Long-Term Effects of Complications After Ankle Surgery Things are changing in the treatment of severe ankle arthritis. What was once treated with ankle fusion can now be managed with a joint replacem ...more
Are We Ready for Arthroscopic Surgery for Ankle Fractures Yet? Arthroscopic reduction and internal fixation (ARIF) of ankle fractures is an emerging procedure. Until now, the complexity of the ankle ...more
Holes or defects in the surface of a joint that extend down through the cartilage to the bone are called osteochondral lesions. Various treatment approaches have been tried for this problem with some ...more
New Information on Ankle Fractures in Older Adults Studies show that more and more older adults are being treated for ankle fractures. Not only are there more of these injuries, but they are more sev ...more
In the last few years, scientists have discovered that injecting platelets from blood into damaged tendons helps them heal faster and better. This has been good news for professional athletes who are ...more
Ankle sprains can be very debilitating -- especially for sports athletes who are eager to get back into action. Since most ankle sprains are treated conservatively (without surgery), Physical Therapis ...more
Health care reform has given researchers reason to study the cost-effectiveness of medical treatment and find ways to improve results with less expense. Athletic injuries make up a huge proportion of ...more
What are footballer's ankle, kissing osteophytes, andpeek-a-boo heels? And what do they have in common? Athletes involved in running and jumping sports can develop a condition called footballer's ankl ...more
Ankle pain in athletes of all kinds is a fairly common problem. When X-rays show bone spurs called osteophytes along the front part of the joint, the condition is referred to as anterior ankle impinge ...more
Ankle pain when putting weight on the foot can come from a wide range of problems. One of those problems can be identified using an anesthetic injection into the joint. It's called osteochondral lesio ...more
Surgeons know that replacing the ankle joint (a procedure called total ankle arthroplasty or TAA) is more successful for some patients than for others. This particular operation requires selecting pat ...more
For every orthopedic injury, surgeons must know the mechanism (how it occurred), details about the anatomy (part affected) and pathology (exactly what's wrong), and how to treat it. Treatment must be ...more
Little by little orthopedic surgeons are finding better ways to treat ankle arthritis besides just fusing the joint. In this report, the use of a new technique called distraction arthroplasty for ankl ...more
Are you a teen who has sustained a sprained ankle and have not fully recovered after several months? This article reviews the outcome of surgery, and conservative treatment of ankle impingement sympto ...more
Physical Therapy in Newburgh and Orange County New York for Ankle Have you been told that your ankle cartilage is damaged? This article provides information on diagnosis and treatment of these injuri ...more
What is your achilles heel all about? Peak Physical Therapy patients who wonder about the pathology contibuting to their achilles tendonitis may find this article of interest. Tissue samples were take ...more
Q: Just how long does it take to recover from an ankle sprain? Can you get back to normal in six weeks? Eight weeks? At all? When is ankle rehab needed? These are the questions this group of athletic ...more
Almost everyone has either sprained an ankle or knows someone who has. It's one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries. Most people recover well from sprained ankles, but about 10 percent to 40 p ...more
Most people are familiar with the typical ankle injury that occurs just below the ankle bones. But there are other types of ankle injuries. One of those is the syndesmosis ankle sprain. The syndesmosi ...more
One ankle sprain can change the course of your life. When does that happen? When one injury leads to another and another until you have a condition called chronic ankle instability (CAI). Every day in ...more
In the sports world, an ankle sprain is big news. Such injuries account for many days missed in training and in competition. An acute ankle sprain that isn't treated properly can result in chronic wea ...more
Ankle sprains are very common among athletes and sports participants. What's the best way to prevent an ankle sprain? Is it high top shoes? Wearing a brace of some sort? Taping the ankle? In this repo ...more
Persistent ankle pain after an ankle sprain could be a sign of a condition called osteochondral lesion of the talus (OLT). The talus is a bone in the ankle between the calcaneus (heel bone) below and ...more
Rehabilitation programs have proven successful in helping people regain stability after an ankle sprain. A hallmark of ankle rehabilitation has been the use of proprioception exercises. Proprioception ...more
It's like getting paid for someone else's work. In a phenomenon called the crossover effect, the muscles of one ankle get stronger even when exercises are done only by the opposite ankle.
Even though sprains of the outer (lateral) ankle ligaments are one of the more common types of injuries, opinions abound as to the best types of treatment. Over the years, treatments have ranged all t ...more
Ankle fusion surgery (also called arthrodesis) is a last-ditch effort to relieve pain in arthritic ankle joints. The surgery involves making the bones in a joint grow together, or fuse. This stops the ...more
Ankle sprains happen often in sports, especially to runners and athletes in jumping sports. To treat an ankle sprain, RICE -- or rest, ice, compression, and elevation -- is just what the doctor ordere ...more
The scourge of ankle sprain--when it happens once, it'll probably happen again, an occurrence called recurrent ankle sprain. The first sprain often harms the sensors within the joint, muscles, and lig ...more
Ever had a Physical Therapist wrap a measuring tape in a figure eight around your ankle? If you sprain your ankle, this measurement can tell how much swelling there is from the injury. Therapists some ...more
Up to sixty percent of recreational runners may get injured over the course of a year. Most of these injuries come from overuse. Ten to 15 percent of them are thought to be tibial stress syndrome.
Do you ever consider how hard your ankles are working to hold you in a steady position? Most people don't give this much thought, but the ankle is actually a very important part of standing and mo ...more
Here's a dilemma for sports medicine. Say an athlete sprains an ankle. Can the medical examiner tell the coach how soon the athlete can return to the sport? Right now, ligament sprains are divided ...more
Shin splints often happen to athletes, especially runners, ballet dancers, and soldiers in basic training. Though shin splints are a common problem, not much is known about what causes this painful co ...more
About half of all ankle sprains happen during sports. Most sprains get better without surgery. But in 20 percent of cases, one sprain leads to another. When this happens, surgery is needed.
Tendinopathy affects tendons by causing pain, swelling, and poor physical performance. It isn't simply a problem of inflammation as in tendinitis. Rather, tendinopathy causes degeneratation in the ...more
What's the number one goal of an athlete who's been injured? Get back into the game! Trainers and Physical Therapists see this a bit differently. They want to return athletes to sport quickly, ...more
Snowboarding has become an increasingly popular sport. Injuries from snowboarding are also on the increase. Most of the injuries are to the arms, caused by falls. About 20 percent of the accidents aff ...more
Does ankle taping before exercise help prevent ankle sprains? Some exercise specialists think so. Some, including these authors, don't. They tested the effects of ankle tape and ankle braces on la ...more
Icing is one of the main treatments for injured or sore joints. Athletes ice their sprains and strains after training, after competition, and after rehabilitation exercises. But could icing be useful ...more
Ankle sprains are the most common injury to the soft tissue in the body. Most people turn the ankle inward and sprain the lateral ligament. This is called an inversion injury. After such an injury, al ...more
A broken ankle is the most common fracture treated in hospitals. They are increasingly common in active younger people and in the elderly. Some ankle fractures need surgery that includes metal plates ...more
When muscles aren't used, they tend to get weaker and shrink in size. Bones that aren't used become less dense and weaker. When tendons aren't used, they become weaker too. When tendons ar ...more
Sports injuries. If you haven't had one yourself, you've probably watched on TV as players were injured on the field. Everyone waits in silence until the player is able to get up and leave. It ...more
How do doctors get the word out when they've made a new discovery or tried something different that worked? They use technical notes. This is a short article in a medical journal telling what they ...more
Is an operation needed to repair a torn Achilles tendon? Doctors still don't agree on the best way to treat these injuries. The Achilles is the tendon that attaches to the calf muscle in the lower ...more
Achilles was a Greek mythological hero. When he was young, his mother held him by the heel and dipped him in the river Styx. Everything the sacred waters touched became strong and unbeatable. The heel ...more
You just saw your favorite athlete take the field (or floor) wearing an ankle brace. "Oh no," you think. He or she must have had an injury! Maybe not. Many athletes wear ankle braces to prev ...more
Telling someone to "break a leg" is for good luck in the theater world. This is not such a good expression for snow boarders. They actually do break bones in their legs far too often. In fac ...more
In 1982 a student at the University of Athens wrote a paper on a new finding in the ankle. The student's name was Constantinos Nikolopoulos. He reported a new ligament never seen before in the ank ...more
One-third of all orthopedic doctors use steroid injections to treat Achilles tendonitis. The dangers of steroid injections are still questioned by many other doctors. Researchers at the University of ...more
You step down or jump down and feel a sudden snap in the calf muscle. You've just ruptured your Achilles tendon. What do you do now? Doctors don't agree on the best treatment early after Achil ...more
This new study from the University of Iowa reports the long-term results of ankle replacement surgery. The Agility total ankle replacement was used in 126 patients. An earlier report by these same aut ...more
The results of ankle replacement are better than ever. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found a way to measure true ankle motion to prove this.
Ankle fusion is often the best way to treat severe ankle arthritis. But major problems can occur. The patient can end up with a painful and very stiff joint that doesn't allow for walking on uneve ...more
Volleyball players are at increased risk for ankle sprain. And once an ankle is injured, the chances of spraining it again go up. This large study of 116 volleyball teams presents some ideas for preve ...more
Experts in foot and ankle injuries report that a rare ankle fracture is on the rise. Snowboarders land on the foot and ankle when they are twisted in and pulled up. The force can be enough to break of ...more
Ankle injuries are common in ice hockey because of the nature of the sport. It's a high-speed contact sport played with the feet in rigid boots. The game is played on a hard surface with boards al ...more
Jumping and landing are important skills in sports like basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Ankle sprains make landing difficult. Pain, swelling, and giving way of the ankle lead to functional ankle i ...more
There's a fibrous band of tissue between the two lower leg bones called the syndesmosis. It holds the bones together giving the ankle stability while still allowing motion. It's a real challen ...more
Treatment for ankle sprain is often directed at reducing painful swelling. The idea is to restore function by limiting inflammation. However this treatment approach has been called into question by a ...more
Physical Therapists need more information to help them with patients who have ankle joint stiffness after casting for bone fractures. Knowing how to stretch the muscles to regain motion is important. ...more
In this report two Physical Therapists review the exam and results of treatment for seven athletes with cuboid syndrome from a sprained ankle. Cuboid syndrome occurs when the cuboid bone inside the an ...more
What's the risk of first-time ankle injury for athletes? Are women more likely to sprain their ankles compared to men? Are there more injuries in high school athletes compared to college athletes? ...more
Swelling is often present after an ankle sprain. Swelling can delay healing and reduce ankle function. The main goal of early treatment is to control swelling. One way to do this is with a special for ...more
Ankle sprains are a common problem among athletes. Many athletes who sprain their ankles one time, resprain it again. Ankle taping is one treatment method used to prevent reinjury.The researchers in t ...more
Injuries of the ankle can involve bone, soft tissues, or both. A specific ankle injury called the syndesmotic injury is the topic of this review article. The syndesmosis is made up of four ligaments a ...more
Ankle fractures are very common and orthopedic surgeons see many in their practices. The fractures are classified into one of two categories, according to how they are broken; one is called the supina ...more
The management of ankle osteoarthritis (OA) in young adults is a challenge. The two most common treatment approaches are ankle fusion and total joint replacement. But a long life expectancy and high a ...more
Total ankle replacement (TAR) is still a fairly new treatment option for severe ankle pain and arthritis. Prior to ankle joint replacement, the standard treatment has been ankle fusion called arthrode ...more
As some people age and develop severe arthritis in the ankle, quality of life can be affected because they have difficulty with mobility and performing every day activities. Traditionally, this type o ...more
In this study, the Orthofix retrograde locking nail system was used for ankle fusion. Specifically, the tibiotalocalcaneal joints were fused. This means the ankle and subtalar joints are both fused. T ...more
Ankle sprains are the most common ankle injuries in the adult population. In fact, it is estimated that at least one million such injuries occur every year in the United States.
Over the last 40 years, ankle joint replacements have gone through three generations of implant design and materials. In this article, a group of orthopedic surgeons review the history of total ankle ...more
There is limited data on the types of injuries that occur among ballet dancers. Likewise, the number of injuries each year is not widely reported. In this study, Physical Therapists conducted screenin ...more
There is some concern that research doesn't support the use of epidural steroid injections (ESI) for spinal stenosis. Even more controversial is the use of opioid medications for pain from this co ...more
It’s not clear what is the best treatment for tendinopathy. That’s the conclusion of researchers reviewing all the published studies on the topic. Tendinopathy refers to a painful tendon c ...more
Midfoot arthrosis can be the result of several problems so the treatment varies significantly from patient to patient. The causes include trauma, inflammatory arthropathy, and idiopathic arthritis. Be ...more