Ankle Arthritis

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What is Ankle Arthritis?

Ankle arthritis causes pain and leads to disability of the ankle joint. Unlike arthritis of other joints, such as the knee and hip joints, the most common cause of ankle arthritis is post-traumatic. Thus, fracture, dislocation, or sprain of the ankle joint are most cases of ankle arthritis. That is why these conditions lead to joint inflammation and make it difficult to walk and perform other mobile activities.

Causes of Ankle Arthritis?

Ankle arthritis is less common compared to knee and hip arthritis. Causes of ankle arthritis include:

• Post-traumatic arthritis: If you had a fracture, dislocation, or a sprained ankle, you are more likely to develop ankle arthritis.
• Osteoarthritis: The degeneration of cartilage at the articular surfaces (bone surfaces that form joints) of ankle bones may be the cause of your ankle arthritis.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: In this disease, your immune system attacks the delicate membranes of your ankle joints and causes inflammation and arthritis.
• Other types of arthritis that may affect your ankle joint include gouty arthritis, reactive arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis.
• Obesity and genetics also cause ankle arthritis.

Diagnosis of Ankle Arthritis?

Symptoms and Signs

• Pain with a motion that flares up with robust activity
• Tenderness, warmth, redness, and swelling
• Reduce ability to move, walk and put a weight on the ankle
• Joint stiffness in the morning, after rest, or after sitting for a while
• Pain and swelling increase after rest or sitting for a while

The diagnosis of ankle arthritis is made based on:

• Medical history of your past injuries, dislocations, fractures, or any other such traumas and examination
• X-rays or MRIs to check for bone irritation, inflammation, or loss of joint space
• Lab tests to check for specific proteins and antibodies that are positive in certain types What are the treatments for Ankle Arthritis?

What is the interventional pain management for Ankle Arthritis?

There are some interventional options:

Intraarticular steroid injection: Many of these arthritides are inflammatory in nature. That is why steroid injection will be helpful if the pain does not respond to other painkillers.

Platelet Rich Plasma injection: Some arthritis is degenerative or osteoarthritis. That’s why PRP injection with or without hyaluronic acid helps in these situations.

Surgery, the last resort, is performed only when the pain is severe; and other options have failed.

PRP THERAPY

Platelet-rich plasma is a form of regenerative medicine. It uses injections of your own blood platelets to help with healing.

What Is Platelet-Rich Plasma?

Platelets, or thrombocytes, are a type of blood cell. Their main function is clotting blood. They’re produced in your bone marrow. Platelets contain growth factors. These are proteins that may be helpful in healing injuries.

How Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Work?

A healthcare professional will collect a small amount of your blood (approx. 15-20 ml only). They will place your blood into a centrifuge. This spins your blood at different speeds until it separates into different layers. One layer is the platelet-rich plasma. This layer of plasma may have as much as three-four times more platelets than regular blood.‌

The platelet-rich plasma will then be injected into your affected area. We will first numb the area with a local anesthetic. The pain at the site may increase for the first 1-2 days. It could take 1 week before you feel any improvement.‌

After your treatment, we will recommend you to:

• Avoid taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications ( NSAIDs) after your treatment as this may block the effect
• Avoid activities that put stress on the area of treatment for a few days

Is Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment Effective?

The effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma treatment depends on several factors, including:

• Your overall health
• Whether your injury is chronic (it developed over time) or acute (sudden and serious)
• Which part of your body needs treatment
• The preparation of the platelet-rich plasma treatment

Many clinical trials have supported its use.

Some studies have found that platelet-rich plasma injections significantly reduced pain compared to placebos. People’s physical function also improved significantly. These benefits continued at 3, 6, and 12-month follow-ups.

There’s no chance of an allergy or immune reaction to platelet-rich plasma treatment because the plasma is taken from your own blood. Side effects and complications are rare

What does the procedure involve?

The doctor will clean the area over the joint and insert a small needle into the fluid filled area around the joint bones under imaging guidance. When it is in the correct position, they will inject the PRP into the joint. They will remove the needle and cover the injection site with a small dressing.

Why Not (Contraindication)?

Occasionally it is difficult to inject much medicine into the joint space, especially if the joint is extremely swollen. If this is the case, other medicines may be prescribed to reduce the swelling before the injections are tried again.

What you are to do before procedure (Preparation)?

• Book prior appointment if elective or get admission in causality if emergency
• Lab investigation (*PT/INR, CBC), XRAY, CT/MRI scan and previous records.
• 2-3 Hours fasting.
• If you are on blood thinner like Aspirin, inform during appointment.
• One accompanying person
• Need to sign a consent form for procedure
• Approx. Stay in hospital?

We have very fast and competent working team (Consultant, fellow, clinical assistant, technician and ward assistant) which provide you comfortable atmosphere and ease your nerves. Usual time of stay is around few hours.

Complications

Every procedure carries a risk, although this is extremely small. The risk of infection with this procedure is extremely small as no incisions are made in the skin.

Resume to work?

You can resume your work after 1 day if existing disease allows.