The foot and ankle group runs a portfolio of research projects ranging from laboratory studies, treatment development, clinical trials and health services research.
Central to the work of the FASTER team is a well- equipped gait analysis laboratory situated within the outpatients department at Chapel Allerton Hospital. The gait laboratory supports a variety of studies including work investigating mechanical pathology associated with osteoarthritis and joint hypermobility syndrome. The lab provides a comprehensive facility for measuring outcomes in trials of new pharmaceuticals in rheumatoid arthritis and sero-negative spondyloarthopathies.
Grant funding comes from fellowships, project grants and studentships from the Arthritis Research Campaign and the Department of Health, as well as industry funded work.
Recent work has investigated in detail the role of impaired mechanical function in joint hypermobility syndrome using electromagnetic and video-based motion analysis. A large scale study has been conducted in association with national patient groups to quantify the impact of the disease and a large clinical trial with twelve month follow-up has recently closed-out, in which the efficacy of mechanical therapies in treating hypermobile joints has been investigated.
The same multi-pronged approach is being applied in inflammatory arthritis, with a range of studies covering the mechanisms of RA as it affects the joints of the foot, clinical trials of mechanical therapies and more complex interventions, identification of predictors of successful outcome of foot surgery, and health service organisation research. Gait laboratory work is combined with the department’s strength in MR imaging and high resolution ultrasound, and capitalises on the strong links between the academic section and the clinical unit.
The Leeds unit provides a national lead for the foot in rheumatology and is running a national standards project for foot health services.
FASTER has a strong background in developing allied health professionals through internships and studentships. Future plans include developing this professional group further by targeting pre and post-doctoral fellowships.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Helliwell, P. Reay, N. Gilworth, G. Redmond, A. Slade, A. Tennant, A. Woodburn, J. Development of a foot impact scale for rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2005, 53(3): 418-22
Davys HJ, Turner DE, Helliwell PS, Conaghan, PG, Emery P, Woodburn J Debridement of plantar callosities in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2005;44(2):207-10.
Redmond AC., Waxman R., Helliwell PS. Provision of foot health services in rheumatology in the UK. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2006, 45(5):571-576.