Michael Hahn, Ph.D.
VA Center of Excellence for Limb Loss Prevention and Prosthetic Engineering
E-mail: mehahn@u...


TITLE:

"Effects of Ankle Osteoarthritis on Gait Mechanics"


ABSTRACT:

Ankle osteoarthritis (OA) is a relevant disease that afflicts both the general public
and veterans. It has been estimated that 6% of the general population has ankle OA.
In a recently conducted pilot study by the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health
Care System (VAPSHCS), 13.6% of veterans complained of ankle pain and crepitus
consistent with ankle OA. This would equate to over 38,500 veterans with ankle OA
in the VAPSHCS alone. Recent evidence suggests that there is an increasing incidence
of ankle OA in the general population. Many research groups have addressed the
adaptation or compensation strategies used by patients with knee OA, but no other
studies to date have addressed ankle OA in a similar manner. Therefore, it is imperative
to address ankle OA conditions in biomechanical and clinical studies with the goal of
designing more effective treatment options and interventions to slow the disease
progression. This seminar will present results from some of the preliminary efforts
being made by our group to determine biomechanical gait adaptations adopted by
patients with ankle OA.