Department

Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Our goal is to keep people mobile as long as possible by improving therapeutic interventions. We study risk factors and (molecular) processes of skeletal growth & development disorders, sport & traumatic injuries and osteoarthritis.

About our Department

Our research

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a progressive and degenerative disease of the joints that causes impaired mobility and pain. It affects all joint tissues: cartilage, bone, synovium, tendons and ligaments. How these changes are orchestrated is not fully understood. We currently have no cure for osteoarthritis. At the end stage, joint replacement surgery is the main treatment option. By gaining more insight in osteoarthritis etiology, we aim to develop new treatments that can prevent the development of OA or delay the need for joint replacement surgery.

Sports & traumatic injuries

More and more patients are consulting sports physicians and orthopedic surgeons for injuries of cartilage, bone, tendon or ligaments due to trauma or sports. When these injuries are left untreated, there is a significant risk for the development of degenerative joint diseases. Our research focusses on the effectiveness of different treatment options and the development of new treatments to regenerate the damaged structures.

Skeletal growth and development

Changes in the joint shape and bone density in the developing joint are studied to relate observed joint changes to clinical symptoms, progression of the disease, environmental factors and genetic factors. To improve treatment, it is of importance to understand the processes that take place when the joint develops. Pathologies of the hip that occur in childhood and adolescence, such as dysplasia, CAM impingement, Perthes disease and slipped capital femoral epiphysis, have our special attention.

Principal Investigators

Head of Department: Mevr. Prof. dr. D. Eygendaal

Osteoarthritis
Basic research
Prof. dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch

Clinical research
Prof. dr. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra
Prof.dr.ir. J. Harlaar

Prof.dr. J.B.J. van Meurs
Dr. M. Reijman
Dr. D.E. Meuffels
Dr. J. van Oldenrijk
Dr. J. Colaris
Dr. R. Agricola

Skeletal growth and development
Basis research
Prof. dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch
Dr. R. Narcisi

Clinical research
Prof. dr. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra
Dr. M. Reijman
Prof. dr. ir. J. Harlaar
Dr. R. Agricola

Sports- and traumatic injuries
Basic research
Prof. dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch
Dr. R. Narcisi

Clinical research
Prof. dr. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra
Dr. M. Reijman
Prof. dr. ir. J. Harlaar
Dr. D.E. Meuffels
Dr. J. Colaris
Dr. R.J. de Vos
Dr. T. Piscaer

Research lines

Research Line "Osteoarthritis"

Study early phases of osteoarthritis to stop progression to chronic end-stage osteoarthritis or reverse this process
Improve the surgical and non-surgical treatment of OA
Develop new biological treatment methods
Develop methods for the early-stage recognition of OA

Research Line "Sport and Traumatic Injuries"

Determine risk factors for – and the long-term consequences of – sports injuries and trauma-related injuries
Improve surgical and non-surgical treatment options for sport and traumatic injuries
Improve and develop regenerative treatments for cartilage, bone and tendon/ligament injuries

Research Line "Skeletal Growth and Development"

Unravel the etiopathogenesis of joint development and the development of deformities during growth
Improve treatment choices for children with growth and developmental disorders

Projects

Beweegbord project

More information will follow

HAT-project

Research project: To study whether a high volume injection without corticosteroids improves clinical outcome in addition to usual care for adults with chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy.

Healthy Joints

iCELL

IC-Move

Description will follow

IMPAcT-project

To develop a 'Mobility and Physical activity Telemonitoring System' and determine its (cost-) effectiveness

INSPIRE-project

To examine the effect of a multifactorial, online injury prevention programme on the number of running-related injuries (RRIs) in recreational runners.

INTOarthritis

Identifying New Treatment targets for Osteoarthritis using multi-omic data and next generation personalised human in vitro models

JOCD

Evaluation of juvenile osteochondritis dissecans in a population-based cohort and its association with multiple potential risk factors.

JUMPER-project

Research project: To compare the effectiveness of progressive tendon-loading exercises (PTLE) with eccentric exercise therapy (EET) in patients with patellar tendinopathy.

LoaD

Microfet2 Stabilizer project

Development of a stabillizer for the Microfet2, a hand-held dynamometer to measure accurately and reliable the force of quadriceps muscle. This project is in collaboration with Create4Care and the department of Medical Technology of the Erasmus MC

OAinject

PATIO-project

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the optimized, treat-to-target PPT strategy in TKA and THA patients compared to usual PPT. The hypothesis is that with the optimized strategy superior functional outcome can be achieved to usual care, with lower costs (superiority study).

Rotate-project

Research towards individualized treatment recommendation in patients with an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.

SUSPECT-study

Patients with a clinically suspected scaphoid fracture and normal initial radiographs are treated with 2 weeks below-elbow cast. However, only 10% of these patients has eventually a scaphoid fracture. Therefore, we are treating most patients unnecessary.

Telefysio-Project

Telefysio is a long-term phased dynamic project to develop, implement and evaluate a digital physical therapy application to be used before, during, and after hospitalization.

Treatment of Achilles tendinopathy – a living systematic review and network meta-analysis

Research project: Evaluation of the comparative effectiveness of all available treatments for Achilles tendinopathy.

WalkWell Gait reTrainer

The project evaluates a wearable device, the WalkWell Gait reTrainer, for personalized gait retraining to improve daily life for knee osteoarthritis patients

World COACH Consortium

Worldwide collaboration of prospective studies to advance the principles of hip osteoarthritis in order to discover personalized prevention and treatment modalities

Doctoral theses

Doctoral thesis

2024

Wesdorp M.A. (2024, January) Promoting endogenous repair in osteochondral defects: Exploring therapeutic strategies and the impact of inflammation Pure Eur.nl

Willems J.A. (2024 April) Bone, Union and Osteoarthritis Pure Eur.nl

2023

Rooij de J.D. (2023, January) Nucleoplasty: A new treatment option for cervical radicular pain due to a disc herniation.Pure.Eur.nl

Kuijk K.S.R. (2023, March): Cruciate ligament rupture and the role of radiological knee shape. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra, D.E. Meuffels.Pure.Eur.nl

Voskamp C. (2023, April): Cartilage Tissue Engineering. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch, Dr. R. Narcisi. Pure.Eur.nl

Pkric A. (2023, January): Advancement in total elbow arthroplasty care. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. D. Eygendaal, Dr. B. The, Dr. C.J.A. van Bergen. Pure.eur.nl

2022

Ferrao Blanco M. 2022, October) Pharmacolocal treatments for osteoarthritis - Emerging therapeutic strategies targeting chondrocyte hypertrophy and inflammation. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch, Dr. R. Narcisi. Pure.eur.nl

van Egmond J. (2022, October) Optimizing Fast-Track Protocols for Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty. Rotterdam: Erasmus University Rotterdam. PRom/Coprom: Prof.dr. J.A.N. Verhaar, Dr. N.M.C. Mathijssen. Pure.eur,nl

2021

Leijs, M. (2021, December). Intra-Articular Application of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoarthritis — The Next Step: Optimization of Therapeutic Capacity and Applicability. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch, Dr. M. Bernsen, Dr. P.K. Bos. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/137032

Eggerding, V. (2021, June). Optimal treatment for patients after anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. S.M. Bierma-Zeinstra, Dr. M. Reijman, Dr. D.E. Meuffels. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/135515

van Klij, P. (2021, March 10). The development of the non-perfect hip in young athletes. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. J.A.N. Verhaar, Dr. R. Agricola.Repub P. van Klij, embargo

Vainieri, ML (2021, February 18). Towards Cartilage Regeneration: Biomaterial-Assisted Cell-Free Approach in a Physiological Joint-like Environment. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/131288

Van der Vlist, AC (2021, January 20) Achilles Tendinopathy: risk factors, imaging, and treatment. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr. J.A.N. Verhaar, Dr. R.J. de Vos. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/133300

2020

Fokkema, T. (2020, December 2). Prognosis and Prevention of Injuries in Recreational Runners. Prom/Coprom: Prof.dr.S.M. Bierma-Zeinstra, M. van Middelkoop, R.J. de Vos https://repub.eur.nl/pub/124642

Tolk, JJ (2020, June 2). Expectations and Outcome in Knee and Hip Arthroplasty. Prom/Coprom: S.M. Bierma-Zeinstra, M. Reijman, R.P.A. Janssen. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/127241

Eijgenraam SM (2020, January 22). The Meniscus Matters - Novel insights into imaging and treatment of meniscal pathology. Prom/coprom: Prof. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra, Dr. E.H.G. Oei, Dr. M. Reijman en Dr. D.E. Meuffels https://repub.eur.nl/pub/120794

Suijkerbuijk MAM (2020, January 8) Hamstring Tendon Regeneration Following Harvest for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Prom/coprom: Prof.dr.G.J.V.M. van Osch, Dr. D.E. Meuffels, Dr. Y.M. Bastiaansen-Jenniskens https://repub.eur.nl/pub/121752

2019

v Oldenrijk J. (2019, May 21) Short Incisions and Short Stems in Total Hip Arthroplasty. Prom/coprom: Prof.dr.C.N. van Dijk, dr. M.U. Schafroth, dr. R.W. Poolman https://www.orthopeden.org/downloads/654/proefschrift-jakob-van-oldenrijk.pdf?view=active

Fahmy-Garcia S. (2019, May 2019) Towards in situ bone tissue engineering : an injectable system for protein delivery. Prom/coprom: Prof.dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch, Prof. Dr.J.P.T.M. van Leeuwen, Dr. E. Farrell, Dr. M. van Driel https://repub.eur.nl/pub/116479

Mumcuoglu, Z. D. (2018, May 9). Development of an injectable slow release system for bone morphogenetic protein-2. Prom./coprom.: Prof. Dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch & S.G. Kluijtmans. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/105787

Pleumeekers, M. M. (2018, juni 29). Face it: Cell-based therapy for the reconstruction of cartilage defects in the head and neck area. Prom./coprom.: Prof. Dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch & KS Stok. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/105992

Utomo, L. (2018, september 18). Macrophage Phenotypes in Degenerative Joint Diseases. Prom./coprom.: Prof. Dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch, Prof. Dr. J.A.N. Verhaar & Dr. Y.M. Bastiaansen-Jenniskens. https://repub.eur.nl/pub/106448

Boersema, G.S.A. (2017, September 13). Major Abdominal Surgical Complications : Innovative Approaches. Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. J.F. Lange, Prof. Dr. G.J. Kleinrensink, Dr. Y.M. Bastiaansen-Jenniskens & Prof.Dr. J. Jeekel. - https://repub.eur.nl/pub/100857

Dorleijn, D.M.J. (2017, January 25). Hip Osteoarthritis : symptomatic presentation and non-operative treatment. Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra, Dr. P.A.J. Luijsterburg & Dr. P.K. Bos. - https://epubs.ogc.nl/?epub=d.dorleijn%20(Metis)

Grotenhuis, N. (2017, October 11). New Models for Patient-specific Evaluation of the Effect of Biomaterials on Macrophages. Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch, Prof. Dr. J.F. Lange & Dr. Y.M. Bastiaansen-Jenniskens. - https://repub.eur.nl/pub/101852

Vos, BC de (2017, February 7). Battling Obesity : Efforts in preventing knee osteoarthritis. Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra & Dr. J. Runhaar. - https://repub.eur.nl/pub/95488

Wei, W. (2017, October 20). Adipose tissue and the knee? : role of inflammation on joint degeneration and cartilage repair. Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. G.J.V.M. van Osch, Prof. Dr. J.A.N. Verhaar & Dr. Y.M. Bastiaansen-Jenniskens. - https://repub.eur.nl/pub/102357

Windt, A.E. van der (2017, March 29). Calcineurin Inhibition at Physiological Osmolarity: Toward improving cartilage regeneration. EUR (209 pag.) Supervisor(s): Prof. Dr. Ir. H.H. Weinans & Prof. Dr. J.A.N. Verhaar. - https://repub.eur.nl/pub/98466

Kroon, L. de (2017, October 23). A dive into TGHß signaling components during generation and degeneration of cartilage. Supervisors; van der Kraam PM, Van Osch GJVM, Narcisi R, Blaney Davidson N. - No link available

Connective Tissue Repair Lab

News, events and awards

Our news

Upcoming defense:

June 20, 2024; Joost Verschueren. Entitled: 'Unloading therapy for medial knee osteoarthritis: Clinical outcomes and quantitative imaging considerations'.
Promotor: Prof. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra, MD, PhD & Prof. E. Oei, MD, PhD

Copromotor: M. Reijman, PhD

September 4, 2024 Sabine van der Graaff. Entitled: 'Clinical Decisions and Implications for Treatment of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Ruptures and Traumatic Meniscal Tears'.
Promotor: Prof. J.A.N. Verhaar, MD, PhD

CoPromotor: D.E. Meuffels, MD, PhD & M. Reijman, PhD

September 20, 2024: Noortje Riedstra. Entitled: Hip Morphology and Osteoarthritis, From Anatomical Variations to Clinical Implications
Promotor: Prof.dr. D. Eygendaal & Prof.dr. S.M.A. Bierma-Zeinstra

CoPromotor: R. Agricola, MD, PhD

September 20, 2024: Rik Molenaars: Entitled: Ulnar Collateral Ligament Insufficiency of the Elbow in Overhead Athletes
Promotor: Prof.dr. D. Eygendaal & Prof.dr. M.P.J. van den Bekerom