Why barefoot can be best

NEW YORK - Adults who suffer from knee osteoarthritis - the wear-and-tear form of arthritis - may want to go without shoes whenever possible as new research suggests walking in shoes increases loads on knee and hip joints in patients with the complaint.

Dr Najia Shakoor and Dr Joel Block, from Rush Medical College, Chicago, say in Arthritis and Rheumatism that osteoarthritis of the lower extremity is largely mediated by "aberrant biomechanical forces".

They say: "In knee osteoarthritis, there is evidence that patients with abnormally high dynamic loading of the knees are at greater risk of incident and progressive diseases.

"Consequently, strategies that effectively reduce loads on the knee during gait would be of great interest."

The researchers assessed the effects of modern shoes on gait and lower extremity joint loads in 75 patients with knee osteoarthritis. Their mean age was 59, their mean BMI (body mass index) was 28.4 and 59 of the 75 were women.

Gait analysis was performed while the subjects were wearing walking shoes and walking barefoot. Walking barefoot resulted in significant decreases in loads at the knees and hips. The findings "suggest modern shoes may exacerbate the abnormal biomechanics of lower extremity osteoarthritis".

The researchers say: "Modern shoes, and perhaps our daily walking practices, may need to be re-evaluated with regard to their effects on osteoarthritis."

- REUTERS