Ankle arthritis is not as common as hip and knee arthritis, however it may cause similar debilitating pain when walking. Ankle arthritis is more common in patients with a history of ankle injury with or without surgery. At EFA, we offer various custom bracing options and surgical treatment.
Book an AppointmentAnkle Arthritis Q & A
What are my treatment options?
Currently, we do not have a cure for arthritis anywhere in the body. In early stages, symptoms can be alleviated with oral anti-inflammatories, physical therapy, steroid injections, regenerative medicine and bracing options. In late stages, conservative care only provides minimal benefit. In this stage, surgical options include: joint debridement, total ankle replacement, or ankle fusion.
What is the difference between total ankle replacement and ankle fusion?
Ankle fusion has long been considered the gold standard treatment of end stage ankle arthritis. Fusion procedure eliminates pain by eliminating painful ankle joint motion. However this increases stresses on the adjacent joints.
Total ankle replacement has gained popularity in the past few decades as it functions to preserve some motion at the ankle joint, relieve pain, and prevent adjacent joint arthritis.
Which procedure is the right one for me?
Procedure selection depends on the patient’s medical history, social history, history of ankle surgery, position of the ankle joint and more.
Generally, low demand patients with total ankle replacement have improved outcome with lower rates of additional surgery compared to high demand patients.