Flat feet, knee pain linked in elderly
Compared with their peers with higher arches in supinated feet, the flat-feet elderly are more likely to have chronic pain in knees, a new US study suggests.
The study of 1,900 adults in their 50s or older showed that the elderly with the flattest feet are 43 percent more likely to have damaged cartilage at the inside of the knee.
According to the findings published in the Arthritis Care & Research, the elderly with flat feet also reported 31 percent more knee pain on most days than their studied counterparts.
The findings showed that flat feet may contribute to knee osteoarthritis -- the common "wear-and-tear" form of arthritis in which the cartilage cushioning the joint breaks down.
"We don’t know which came first," said lead researcher K. Douglas Gross from Boston University School of Medicine.
"When your feet flatten, it can change your posture or the way you move," Gross noted. One consequence may be that, when a person puts weight on a flat foot, the lower leg rotates inward -- which over time could damage the cartilage at the inner knee.
The findings of the present study, if confirmed by further studies, could lead to the development of new ways, such as the use of a shoe to support the inner arch of the foot, to lower the risk of having painful knee condition in the elderly.
"There are still many things we need to know before we can recommend that people do that," Gross said. "We’re just at the first step."
Source: presstv.ir
