Ankle: Regenerative Procedures After Foot and Ankle Injuries
摘要
Foot and ankle disorders represent a significant challenge in musculoskeletal medicine, often resulting in chronic pain, functional limitations, and reduced quality of life. Traditional treatment options, including pain management, physiotherapy, and surgical interventions, have limitations, such as restricted tissue repair capacity and donor site morbidity. Regenerative medicine introduces a novel therapeutic approach, utilising stem cell therapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and tissue engineering (TE) with biomaterial scaffolds to enhance the body’s intrinsic healing potential and promote tissue regeneration. This chapter will explore the biological mechanisms, clinical applications, and current evidence for these regenerative therapies in foot and ankle pathology, with a focus on ankle osteoarthritis, Achilles tendinopathy, osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT), and plantar fasciitis. For instance, PRP therapy has been widely studied in Achilles tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis, demonstrating variable outcomes depending on injection protocols and patient selection. While regenerative medicine offers exciting possibilities for foot and ankle disorders, inconsistencies in clinical trial methodologies, small sample sizes, and variable outcome measures challenge its widespread adoption.