Osteoarthritis: Going Barefoot Might Help at He's Fit

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Osteoarthritis: Going Barefoot Might Help

Posted December 7, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Christopher Jack

Section: In The News, His Fitness, Injuries & Rehab, His Health, Physical Health

For those guys out there suffering from osteoarthritis, you may be surprised (or shocked) to learn all those shock absorbing walking shoes and popular clogs, designed to provide relief and protection, may actually be doing more harm than good.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, some 21 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease. The disease, the leading cause of disability among adults, breaks down cartilage that serves as a shock absorber in the joints.

In a recent study, researches took to assessing knee joint impact, or knee load, in 13 men and women suffering from osteoarthritis. The subjects were examined while barefoot, in flip flops, wearing flexible walking shoes, foot stabilizing walking shoes, and a popular brand of clog.

The researchers found that going barefoot put less stress on knee joints than either the shock-absorbing walking shoes or clogs. Flat, flexible shoes proved to be best for minimizing knee load.

“Knee loads play an important role in the progression of knee osteoarthritis,” researcher Najia Shakoor, MD, or Rush Medical College said in a news release. “Shoes have traditionally been engineered to provide foot comfort and little previous attention has been directed to the effects that shoes may have on loading of osteoarthritic knees.”

The results were recently presented to the American College of Rheumatology in Boston.

In a previous study, Shakoor and colleagues found that going barefoot actually put less stress on knee joints than the average walking shoes.

And while the results may be curious, considering the amount you can spend on a pair of clogs or shoes, a good deal more research needs to be done.

Research sources and for more information: [CBS News]; [picture]