Knee Problems? Get a Cane!

As we get older our knees tend to “go” – we develop osteoarthritis. Some of our friends have knee-joint replacements, and resume their hectic active lives. The rest of us hobble occasionally, but steadfastly refuse to use a cane, as that’s a sure sign of “being on our last legs”. This is a mistake, as an Australian study, published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, shows.

Forty people with knee osteoarthritis – 16 men and 24 women – had 3-dimensional analysis of their gait to measure the maximum load on the inner side of their knee joint during walking. Their results when walking bare-foot and in their usual walking shoes were compared, and 20 of them were also tested while using a cane.

Compared with when they were barefoot, the participants walking in shoes had a significant increase in their maximum knee-joint load. Using a cane in the opposite hand to their tested knee, there was a 10% reduction in the load.

These findings show that the usual shoes worn by participants increased the load on the joint – but these shoes might not be optimal for people with existing knee osteoarthritis. These patients should have their shoes checked to see if they are indeed doing more harm than good. More importantly, a cane, used correctly, can produce a striking decrease in the knee-joint load. How important this magnitude of reduction is for slowing the progression of osteoarthritis will be determined in future studies – along with other studies to determine the optimal design of shoes for these patients. In the meantime, if your doctor urges you to use a cane, take his advice. It might help more than you think.

Comments

[Sammie]

This has definitely worked for my dad - I bought him a cane last year and being over 70 with bad knees the cane has been a godsend for him to get around.