Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences

Investigating the role of mechanical load on foot pain and disease in rheumatoid arthritis

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Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disorder affecting the joints, muscles and tendons in our body.

The foot has been found to be the most common reason for disability in these patients. To compensate for foot pain people typically alter their walking style to reduce load on painful structures and joints. This however, may cause compensatory changes on adjacent joints and structures and consequently play an important role in their dysfunction. Therefore, the aim is this project is to: 1. quantify the loads and function of the foot in people with rheumatoid arthritis (with or without foot pain) and; 2. compare this to individuals without rheumatoid arthritis (with or without pain).

Experiments involve walking and generating movements through your legs and feet while we record how your feet and muscles function. The testing protocol will take approximately 2 - 3 hours in total. Free parking will be available.

You'll receive:

A free 3D gait analysis report of the way you walk.

Eligibility:

We are looking for the following types of participants:

  1. Rheumatoid Arthritis (less than 2-years) participants with foot pain
  2. Rheumatoid Arthritis (less than 2-years) participants without foot pain
  3. Rheumatoid Arthritis participants in remission, with foot pain
  4. Rheumatoid Arthritis participants in remission, without foot pain
  5. Healthy individuals with foot pain
  6. Healthy individuals without foot pain.

Inclusion criteria:

  • Older than 18 years (male or female)
  • General fitness to be able to walk for up to 30 minutes.

Exclusion criteria:

  • Inability to complete questions (due to language or cognitive problems)
  • Inability to walk independently
  • Any other serious lower limb injury in the past twelve months (e.g. foot or ankle surgery, broken leg)
  • Muscle degenerative disorders or motor impairments of the lower limb (e.g. muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy)
  • Inability to get an MRI (previous history of surgical implants, such as pacemakers and stents).

Register your interest:

If you are interested in participating, please contact Jayishni Maharaj on 3365 6282 or at jayishni.m@uq.ed.au

This study has been approved by The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee [Approval No. 2019000913]