Ankle osteoarthritis: an online survey of current treatment practices of UK‐based podiatrists and physiotherapists

• Published in: Journal of foot and ankle research 2023-12, Vol.16 (1), p.89-n/a
• Main Authors: Callaghan, Michael J., Gala, Jinal Pravin, Roddy, Edward
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ankle; Antiarthritic agents; Arthritis; Care and treatment; Clinical medicine; Clinical trials; Consent; Evidence-based medicine; Lifestyles; Osteoarthritis; Pain; Patient education; Patient satisfaction; Patients; Physical therapists; Physical therapy; Physiotherapy; Podiatrists; Podiatry; Professions; Proprioception; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Social networks; Statistical analysis; Survey; Surveys; Therapeutics, Physiological
• ISSN: 1757-1146; 1757-1146
• DOI: 10.1186/s13047-023-00683-3

Background Patients with painful ankle osteoarthritis (OA) have a mixed experience of non‐surgical management which they may attribute to a lack of guidance for clinicians on usual care treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to survey the current clinical practices of UK‐based physiotherapists and podiatrists for the treatment of painful ankle osteoarthritis (OA). Methods UK‐based physiotherapists and podiatrists who treat patients with ankle OA completed a self‐administered online questionnaire about their professional and clinical service characteristics, diagnostic criteria, treatment aims, preferred treatment options, and treatment outcome measures. Data were collected anonymously and stored on JISC online survey. ‘Usual care’ was defined as a combination of ‘Always’, and ‘Frequently’, and ‘Not usual care’ was defined as ‘Sometimes’ ‘Rarely,’ ‘Never’, and ‘not applicable’ combined. Statistically significant differences in responses between the physiotherapists and podiatrists were analysed using X2 tests for each treatment modality. Statistical significance was set at p