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The authors are from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (AD, JET) and Case Western Reserve University (SB, HY), Cleveland, Ohio; the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine (AVB), University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York; the Department of Orthopedic Surgery (CCY), Henry Ford Hospital-Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan; the Department of Orthopedics (NSB), University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama; the Department of Orthopedic Surgery (JOT), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; New Hampshire NeuroSpine Institute (UA), Bedford, New Hampshire; and University Hospitals (NA), Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr Dugarte, Mr Bharwani, Mr Yoo, Dr Boiwka, Dr Yu, Dr Bajwa, Dr Toy, and Dr Tang have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. Dr U Ahn has received payments for the development of instrumentation and surgical tools from, has patents with, and receives royalties from Alphatec, Spine 360, and K1. Dr N Ahn has received grants from Stryker and Ulrich.
The foot is a complex structure that provides a rigid support for standing, walking, and running, regardless of the terrain. 1 During gait, interplay between the joints of the foot and the ankle is synchronous. Disruption of the biomechanics in a single joint may lead to dysfunction throughout the structure. 1 Thus, understanding the functional anatomy of the foot and ankle joints is a prerequisite to the study of dysfunction. Knowledge of how pathology changes normal function can help in the provision of optimal treatment. This study examined the relationship between tibiotalar joint osteoarthritis and calcaneocuboidal osteoarthritis (ie, ankle and midfoot osteoarthritis).
Many studies have attempted to describe the relationship between ankle (tibiotalar) and midfoot (calcaneocuboid) osteoarthritis with surgical models. Some studies noted an increased prevalence of arthritis of the ipsilateral hindfoot or midfoot after ankle arthrodesis. 2-7 This is believed to be the result of altered biomechanics that transform forces exerted on the hindfoot and midfoot, as previously described. 3,4 Schuh et al 6 performed gait analysis studies in support of this idea and concluded that compensatory increases in motion occurred in the talonavicular, calcaneocuboid, and subtalar joints after ankle arthrodesis.
To further support this theory, Jung et al 8 simulated tibiotalar arthrodesis in 12 cadaveric specimens. After arthrodesis, each specimen was cyclically loaded with a hydraulic test frame. A substantial increase in pressure in...