People with joint hypermobility offered new hope by clinical trial
People in the north of England with the painful condition of joint hypermobility are being offered new hope by a Leeds-based clinical trial aimed at reducing some of the aches and pains associated with the problem.
Dr Anthony Redmond and Professor Howard Bird from the University of Leeds' department of rheumatology are running the clinical trial with funding of more than £82,000 from the Arthritis Research Campaign to test the effectiveness of specially developed insoles.
People with hypermobility, sometimes known as doubled jointedness, have excessively flexible joints. The condition can often be painful and distressing, with sufferers developing pain in their legs and feet which limits their physical movement.
"The purpose of the study is to explore the link between the function of the joints and any aches and pains, and to see whether the pains can be helped with functional insoles," explained Dr Redmond, Arthritis Research Campaign lecturer in rheumatological podiatry. “Perhaps more important though, we are evaluating practical treatments so the results will make a real difference to people with hypermobility.”
The study has just completed its first year, and following an enthusiastic response from people with hypermobility, has recruited nearly 70 volunteers from across the North of England. The last volunteers join the study next month and the final results will be known in mid 2006.
“Thanks to the generosity of the public in Yorkshire and the North of England, the region is at the forefront of research into joint hypermobility,” says Dr Redmond.
Patients involved in the study test two different types of insole, providing data on pain and function, as well as a detailed assessment in the motion analysis laboratory where sophisticated instruments record the position of their joints during walking.
The clinical applications of the study, called the FLEXI study, are potentially far-reaching in the way that people with hypermobility syndrome and foot problems can be treated.
Anyone with hypermobility syndrome and foot pain in the North of England who would like to find out more can contact Anthony Redmond or trial co-ordinator Heidi Davys on 0113 3434938 or by email ( a.redmond@leeds.ac.uk or h.davys@leeds.ac.uk )
For more information email info@arc.org.uk.
