Nearly one in four people over 40 suffer from osteoarthritis, a painful joint condition that often affects the knees.
Currently, the only treatments are pain medications and, eventually, joint replacement surgery.
But researchers from the University of Utah, NYU, and Stanford University have discovered a promising new approach: gait retraining, which simply means adjusting how a person walks.
In a new year-long clinical study published in The Lancet Rheumatology, participants who slightly changed the angle of their foot while walking experienced significant pain relief—similar to what you’d get from pain medicine.
Even more importantly, their knee cartilage showed less damage over time compared to those who did not make the change. This is the first placebo-controlled study to show that a biomechanical change like gait retraining can actually protect knee health and reduce pain.
The study focused on people with mild-to-moderate arthritis in the inside part of the knee, which usually carries more weight. Because each person’s natural walking style is different, the researchers created a personalized plan for each participant.
They used motion-capture cameras and a pressure-sensitive treadmill to determine whether turning the foot slightly inward or outward—by 5 or 10 degrees—would reduce the stress on the knee.
Some previous studies gave everyone the same foot angle recommendation, but that didn’t work for everyone and led to mixed results. By tailoring the adjustment for each person, the researchers helped participants reduce pressure on their knees more effectively.
Out of 68 participants, half were randomly placed into a placebo group and told to walk with their normal foot angle, while the other half were taught their customized walking adjustment.
Everyone received six weeks of training using a device that vibrated to remind them to keep the correct foot angle. After that, they were encouraged to walk this way for at least 20 minutes daily. Follow-up visits showed that most people kept using the new foot angle naturally.
A year later, those in the intervention group said their pain had gone down more than those in the placebo group. The pain relief was similar to what you’d expect from taking medications like ibuprofen or even a stronger painkiller. Even better, MRIs showed less cartilage damage in the knees of people who changed their walking pattern.
Participants were enthusiastic about the results. One person said, “I don’t have to take a drug or wear a device… it’s just a part of my body now.” That kind of long-term, self-managed solution could be especially helpful for people in their 30s to 50s, who may otherwise face years of pain before they qualify for surgery.
Before this approach can be used in everyday healthcare, it needs to be simplified. The current system, which uses lab equipment to determine the best foot angle, is costly and complex.
However, researchers are working on ways to bring this technology into physical therapy clinics using smartphone cameras or smart shoes. They believe that future studies will help move this idea into the real world, offering a drug-free, non-invasive way to manage knee arthritis.
If you care about pain, please read studies about Chronic morphine use for cancer pain may increase bone loss and findings of Scientists find a new hope for chronic pain.
For more about pain, please read studies about What you need to know about diabetes and joint pain and findings of Understanding the connection between liver disease and joint pain.
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