Adjusting your foot angle can reduce pain in the knee by 2.5 points on a 10-point scale
Osteoarthritis is among the most painful and debilitating conditions you may endure. According to experts, you must walk to keep your knees healthy, but with arthritis, it becomes difficult to do so. A new study says a few adjustments to your body movements can help make it better.
According to NYU Langone Health, the University of Utah, and Stanford University, gait analysis and pain measures show that subtly adjusting the angle of the foot during walking can reduce knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. Experts believe this approach can slow the progression of the condition, a degenerative joint disease where the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones wears down over time, causing pain, stiffness, and reduced range of motion.
How was the study conducted?
For the investigation, published in the journal The Lancet Rheumatology, scientists studied around 70 men and women with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis and then performed advanced MRI scans to help track how well it worked.
According to the results, those trained to angle their feet slightly inward or outward from their natural alignment experienced slower cartilage degeneration in the inner part of their knee compared with those who were encouraged to walk more frequently without changing their foot position. “Although our results will have to be confirmed in future studies, they raise the possibility that the new, non-invasive treatment could help delay surgery,” said study co-lead author Dr Valentina Mazzoli.
Dr Mazzoli added that the earlier patients receive a knee replacement, the more likely they are to require additional procedures in the future.
According to the findings, those who adjust their foot angle can also reduce their pain score by 2.5 points on a 10-point scale. However, those who do not change their gait only reduce their pain scores by a little more than a point. “Altogether, our findings suggest that helping patients find their best foot angle to reduce stress on their knees may offer an easy and fairly inexpensive way to address early-stage osteoarthritis,” added Dr Mazzoli.
For the study, participants were made to walk on a treadmill at a specialised gait-assessment laboratory. A computer program simulated their walking patterns and calculated the maximum loading that occurred on the inner side of their knees. Thereafter, a computer model was generated showcasing four new foot positions – angled inward or outward by either 5 or 10 degrees – and estimated which option reduced loading the most.
Findings showed that those who adjusted their gait reduced the maximum loading in the knees by at least 4 per cent.
What is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, also referred to as a degenerative joint disease. It happens when the cartilage that lines your joints is worn down over time, and your bones rub against each other when you use your affected joints.
Doctors say that, usually, the ends of bones in your joints are capped in a layer of tough, smooth cartilage – a two-in-one shock absorber and lubricant – which helps the bones in your joints move past each other smoothly and safely. But if you have osteoarthritis, the cartilage in your affected joints wears away over time. Eventually, your bones begin to rub against each other when you move.
A leading cause of disability, the disease is often managed with pharmaceutical pain relievers, physical therapy, and, in the most severe cases, knee replacement surgery. Experts believe that excess loading can, over time, contribute to the condition.
Signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis
The most common signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis include:
- Pain in a joint when you move it
- Stiffness
- Swelling near a joint
- A decreased range of motion
- Feeling like a joint is not as strong or stable as it usually is
- A joint looking noticeably different from the way it used to
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