Going barefoot good for arthritic knees

Adults who suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee should try being without shoes when they can. Research suggests that walking with shoes increases the load on the knees and hip joints in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Osteoarthritis (OA) of the lower limb is largely mediated by typical biomechanical forces. In knee OA, there is evidence that patients with abnormally high dynamic loading of the knees are at greater risk of incident and progressive disease. Consequently, strategies that effectively reduce the load on the knee while walking would be helpful in preventing OA.Researchers from Rush Medical College, Chicago, assessed the effects of modern shoes on gait and lower limb joint loads in 75 patients with knee OA. Their mean age was 59 years, their mean BMI (body mass index) was 28, and 59 of the 75 were women. Gait analysis was performed while the subjects were wearing their everyday walking shoes and while they were walking barefoot.

It was found that walking barefoot resulted in significant decreases in dynamic loads at the knees and hips. The findings suggest that modern shoes may exacerbate the abnormal biomechanics of lower limb OA.Although, the effect of wearing shoes on onset of OA hasn't been studied, modern shoes, and perhaps the daily walking practices, may need to be re-evaluated with regard to their effects on the prevalence and progression of OA.