Count on flexible shoes to ease arthritis pain

Published: March 25, 2010

A recent study has revealed that flat shoes play a big role in easing the pains of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, commonly known as Arthritis is a problem which is associated with pains in joints. According to www.lifescript.com, a pair of flatter footwear is more comfortable and easy on the joints of the knees than many of the conventional shoes. Apparently, excess weight, injuries and aging are the factors that are mainly held responsible for the breaking down of the cartilage in the joints leading to osteoarthritis. However, the team of researchers found that flexible and flat footwear considerably minimizes the pressure on knee joints in comparison to their lesser flexible counterparts.

The team of researchers studied the pressure being exerted on the inner side of the joint, which is known to carry thrice as much the load as the outer side of the joint carries. “That’s why we see a lot more people with medial knee osteoarthritis,” explained Dr. Najia Shakoor, a rheumatologist at Rush and the lead author of the study.

As per www.health.am, the study was conducted by a team of researchers on about 31 people who were give different types of shoes ranging from flats, clogs, flip flops to stability shoes. A few of the people were even made to walk barefoot. While the stability shoes and the clogs caused the highest loading on the knee joints, people walking with more flip flops, flexible shoes and even people walking bare foot reported the lightest load on the knees.

Another ailment that aches in the bones is osteoporosis, which Joan Rivers suffers from.

Images: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1252320, http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1220247

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Published March 25, 2010 by Harsh in Health News
Tags: arthritis