Dr. Aubin received funding to carry out a three year study to evaluate conservative treatments for ankle osteoarthritis. Dr. Aubin’s team will be investigating two types of devices (a rocker bottom shoe and an ankle-foot orthosis) which may relieve pain and increase mobility in patients with ankle arthritis. They plan to collect biplane fluoroscopy data from subjects with ankle OA and healthy control subjects without OA, while they walk wearing these devices. Subject will also be monitored while they wear these devices for four months. By measuring motion, pain and step count, they will determine how these devices improve function and reduce pain in patients with ankle OA. Treating patients conservatively (as opposed to surgically), reduces medical cost, recovery time and the risk to the patient. Overall, these benefits could improve the quality of life for people with ankle osteoarthrits.
