Current Research Projects

Windy

The WINDY study (Weaning in INfant hip DYsplasia) is a research study ran by Jo Nott, a children’s orthopaedic surgeon in Liverpool. Jo is looking at two ways of stopping Pavlik harness treatment for babies with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH): slowly reducing the time in the harness (weaning) or stopping straight away.

The study involves babies having Pavlik harness treatment, their families, and doctors and research teams at children’s hospitals across the UK.

The study will run until September 2026 as part of an NIHR-funded research project.

Op NON-STOP

What the research is:

Currently we don’t know whether operating on Perthes’ Disease or not leads to better outcomes. The UK is running the first ever randomised clinical trial to address this. Children over 5 years old in the early stages of Perthes’ Disease will be invited to take part. Those who agree to take part will be allocated to either surgical or active containment to ensure that the femoral head (the ball of the hip) regrows to the best possible shape within the acetabulum (the socket). Check out the video on the OpNON-STOP website to hear us explain it using ice cream!

Who will be involved:

Children aged 5-12 years old with Perthes’ Disease in the early stages
UK NHS sites (over 30 sites) are taking part in this study

Funded by: NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme

When it will run:

Recruitment will run until November 2027

A link to the trial/research website: www.opnonstop.org

Prepare Kids

What the research is: 

Children are waiting longer for orthopaedic surgery, and recovery after surgery can sometimes delay going home from hospital.

PREPARE KIDS is studying whether a prehabilitation session before surgery can help children recover better afterwards. While this approach has shown benefits in adults, there is little evidence in children, making this an important area for research.

Children in the study will either receive:

• Usual NHS care, or
• A prehabilitation session plus usual care – a one-off session around six weeks before surgery that may include exercises similar to those usually provided after surgery as part of NHS care, mobility aid training (such as crutches), and information about what to expect after their surgery.

The study will assess whether this prehabilitation session helps children move around more easily and recover better after surgery, while also reducing hospital stays and NHS costs. The main outcome being measured is children’s functional mobility two weeks after surgery.

 

Who will be involved:

• The study will involve children aged 5-14 years undergoing elective lower limb orthopaedic surgery, with approximately 524 participants being recruited across at least 20 hospitals in the UK. Site staff will include clinical and support staff involved in children’s surgical care. This may include, but is not limited to, orthopaedic consultants/surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists/occupational therapists, and research teams.

Funded by: NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme

The study will be centrally managed by the Surgical Intervention Trials Unit (SITU), in collaboration with the Oxford Clinical Trials Unit (OCTRU).

When it will run:

Recruitment is expected to begin around August 2026.

A link to the trial/research website 

https://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk/research/clinical-trials/prepare-kids

CTEV work (Yael Gelfer and team)

What we did

We established the UK research priorities for clubfoot using a multi-stakeholder consensus process. The study included an initial scoping survey, two rounds of a modified Delphi survey, and final consensus meetings through the UK Clubfoot Network Research Committee. Participants rated proposed research questions from low to high priority, and the process identified nine final research priorities across four themes: primary treatment, bracing, relapse, and physiotherapy/activity.

Who was involved

The project was led by the UK Clubfoot Network Research Committee and involved consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, orthotists, parents, carers and patients. There were 103 participants in round one and 93 participants in round two of the Delphi survey, with formal endorsement of the final priorities at the consensus meeting.

What will happen next

The agreed priorities will be used to guide future UK multicentre clinical trials in clubfoot. The next step is to develop research studies addressing the highest-priority areas, particularly bracing, relapse prevention, optimal management of recurrence, and the role of physiotherapy and activity in maintaining correction through childhood

Further information can be found about the CTEV work in the following links:

 consensus paper discussing clubfoot management until walking age – discusses benchmark treatment and what to expect when attending a clubfoot clinic.

Core outcome set for clubfoot 

multi-centre study – using the core outcome set.

Individuals who are leading some of the research into childhood lower limb conditions

Lucy

Lucy is a Physiotherapist in Paediatric Orthopaedics specialising in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).

She is currently developing research studies around improving non-surgical treatment for babies and children with DDH, including harness and brace treatment. The work will involve collaboration with children and families, healthcare professionals, and researchers. The work will improve care, comfort, and outcomes for children and families, while helping healthcare professionals better understand how treatment affects day-to-day life for patients and parents.

Rachel

Rachel is a clinical specialist physiotherapist who has dedicated her career to children’s orthopaedics. 

She is researching patella instability or “wobbly knee-caps”. We don’t know what the best physiotherapy treatments are to manage this problem in children and young people, or how we prevent issues into adulthood.

Rachel will be working with specialists from the hospitals around the country, as well as research specialists at the University of Leeds to tackle this problem!