Does ankle arthritis cause more disability than other pathologies of the foot and ankle?

J. Ramaskandhan, N. Ashworth, M. Siddique

Introduction: Ankle arthritis is been extensively studied for disease severity and outcomes of surgery. It is a condition resulting in significant pain and disability. There is a lack of literature on pain and disability in ankle arthritis compared to other pathologies of the foot and ankle. We aimed to study the level of disability caused due to ankle arthritis and how it compares to other commonly reported conditions of the foot and ankle.

Methods: We collected PROMs using MOX-FQ questionnaire from newly diagnosed patients under the care of 1 consultant from May 2014 to July 2014. Data was collected for 13 commonly reported conditions for forefoot (3), midfoot (3), hindfoot (5) and ankle arthritis. We grouped patients as Group A, B, C and D for forefoot, midfoot, hindfoot disorders and ankle arthritis respectively. The responses to each of the 3 domains of MOX-FQ were analysed using statistical tests for analysis of variance.

Results: 136 patients took part in this study. This included 52 patients with ankle arthritis, 56 patients with forefoot conditions; 22 patients with midfoot and 31 patients with hindfoot disorders. Group D patients reported highest scores for difficulty with walking/standing (p=0.008) and similar levels of pain to other foot conditions (p>0.05). For Social interaction domain, all 4 groups reported similar level of restrictions in social activity, (p=0.679).

Conclusion: Patients with ankle arthritis experienced higher levels of difficulty with walking/standing and similar levels of pain and restriction with social activities to patients with other foot and ankle pathologies. Further research is required to explore general health and functional limitations in lines with ICF for ankle arthritis.