Joint distraction for the treatment of ankle osteoarthritis.

Joint distraction has demonstrated substantial promise in the treatment of tibiotalar arthritis. Its minimally invasive nature, combined with the fact that it does not seem to "burn any bridges," lends considerable clinical appeal. Even if joint distraction provides only temporary relief and clinical results slowly deteriorate over time, more definitive and committed procedures potentially can be forestalled for a considerable period of time. Nevertheless, the current literature and clinical experience with this technique is limited. Further research and analysis is ongoing and will be necessary to understand, validate, and refine this novel approach to ankle arthritis.