Early weight-bearing in a below-knee rigid boot, a functional brace, following ruptured Achilles tendon can achieve similar results to traditional plaster casting. This NIHR-funded trial included 540 people, and after nine months there appeared to be no difference between the two treatments in terms of how well patients recovered from their injury. The functional brace …

Fixing a displaced broken wrist with wires is as effective as fixation with locking plates in the long term. Wrist function and pain continue to improve in the five years following either operation, with no evidence of a difference between the two treatments. In 2014, a trial comparing the use of Kirschner wires and locking plates …

Injecting a ruptured Achilles tendon with a small sample of a person’s own plasma, without the red blood cells, has no functional or other benefit. Plasma rich in platelets and white blood cells for the acute injury was compared with placebo. The NIHR-funded trial involved 230 adults with acute Achilles tendon rupture (the tendon which …

More than 80% of total knee replacements can last for 25 years An NIHR-funded study showed that about 82% of total knee replacements and 70% of partial (unicompartmental) knee replacements last for 25 years. In 2017 there were 106,334 knee replacement procedures carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This research suggests people could be …

For older people with hip fracture, the choice between full or partial hip replacement does not greatly influence outcomes. In this trial, approximately 8% of patients having each operation required further surgery within a 24-month period. Mortality rates were also similar at around 13%. This multinational trial included 1,495 adults aged over 50 with a hip …

In My Signals, health and social care staff and service users tell us what research is important to them and why they feel others need to know about it. In this collection, we asked seven members of the public to tell us which Signals have interested them most and explain why they feel the findings …

In My Signals, health and social care staff and service users tell us what research is important to them and why they feel others need to know about it. In this collection, we asked seven occupational therapists to tell us which Signals have interested them most and explain why they feel the findings are worth …

Partial knee replacement surgery improves pain and function similarly to total knee replacement in people with osteoarthritis that affects only a single compartment of the knee. Partial knee replacement surgery is also cheaper. In this NIHR-funded trial of 528 people with osteoarthritis affecting only one compartment of the knee, those who had partial knee replacement saw …

Data from national registries and large case series show that in those countries, around 85% of total hip replacements last for 15 years, with 58% lasting for 25 years. This means that those hip replacements have lasted last longer than was first thought. It is good news for an ageing population, as it should mean that …

Large data sets from national registries and case series show that about 82% of total knee replacements and 70% of partial (unicompartmental) knee replacements last for 25 years. This NIHR-funded review of that data is the first to demonstrate longer-term effectiveness of these procedures. This means that the operation, which aims to relieve pain for …