Michael Greaser and John Kent Ellington
Ankle arthritis can be a painful and debilitating condition for many patients. In contrast to hip and knee arthritis, most cases of cases of symptomatic ankle arthritis are post-traumatic in nature. The anatomy, biomechanics and cell biology of the ankle differ from the hip and knee, and this has been postulated to account for the differing rates of post-traumatic vs. primary osteoarthritis in these joints. Non-operative treatment of ankle arthritis relies on antiinflammatory medication, intra-articular injections, and bracing. Patients with end-stage ankle arthritis who fail to respond to non-operative treatments benefit from ankle arthrodesis or total ankle replacement procedures