Post-traumatic situations or instabilities of other aetiology at the level of the foot can lead to painful degenerative arthritis that necessitates surgical arthrodesis for pain relief. Surgical arthrodesis in this region though is associated with a high risk of osseous non-union (depending on the exact location up to 40%) despite standardized preparation and fixation techniques. The development of osseous non-union is associated with certain patient characteristics like active smoking, nutrition etc. Compliance to partial weight-bearing during the early postoperative phase is another contributing factor.~The current study aims at evaluating the effect of biofeedback of correct partial weight bearing on the rate of osseous non-union compared to conventional patient instruction without biofeedback.~All patients will postoperatively be provided with a lower- leg unloading orthosis furnished with a weight sensor that will - according to randomization - give feedback if a predefined weight threshold has been crossed or just measure weight-bearing without feedback.
The current study aims at evaluating the effect of biofeedback of correct partial weight bearing on the rate of osseous non-union compared to conventional patient instruction without biofeedback.