The AMSSM Collaborative Research Network (CRN) announces a $300,000 request for proposals addressing knowledge gaps in the management of osteoarthritis (OA) using cooled radiofrequency (CRF) ablation techniques.
The proposals request, released in conjunction with the AMSSM Foundation, aims to help facilitate and fund promising research studies that use CRF ablation techniques for the treatment of osteoarthritis in sports medicine settings.

“Osteoarthritis is one of the most prevalent conditions treated in sports medicine clinics. Yet our attempts to manage pain in our patient populations often result in varying degrees of success,” says Anthony Beutler, MD, the CRN Leadership Committee Chair, in a media release from American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM).

“There is a need to identify safe, efficacious treatment strategies for OA, and this request for proposals provides us research opportunities to further expand our knowledge of potential treatment options.”

CRF ablation is a newer technique used to deliver localized, therapeutic lesions into nervous tissue with the goal of facilitating denervation to relieve chronic pain resulting from OA. The ultimate objective of this research program is to foster research that will inform the clinical practice of AMSSM members and will help establish AMSSM as a leader in sports medicine research.

Avanos Medical has contributed research grant funds to the AMSSM Foundation in support of this RFP, the release notes.

“The CRN is grateful for the research vision and collaborative opportunities provided by Avanos to help us in our mission of advancing the practice of sports medicine,” states AMSSM Research Director Stephanie Kliethermes, PhD.

“This research grant award will allow our researchers an opportunity to better understand the use of Cooled RFA technology in the sports medicine setting, and hopefully lead to more evidence-based knowledge regarding treatment strategies for individuals afflicted with OA.”

[Source(s): American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, Newswise]