Correct Your Walking to Fix Back or Knee Pain?

The largest private health insurance company in the UK – BUPA, or the British United Provident Association – was formed in 1947 to preserve freedom of choice in health care. It believed that with the National Health Service being introduced a year later, there would still be a need for a complimentary service enabling people from all walks of life to afford the benefits of choice in where, when and by whom they were treated. It has, since then, flourished, and is now taking the lead in addressing a pressing problem for Brits: the fact that almost half UK adults suffered back pain last year; one in 4 suffered knee pain. So BUPA is making a treatment available to subscribers to its health plans. It’s called APOS, or All Phases of Step Cycle, and concentrates on treatment ‘from the feet up’. And it’s supposed to eliminate the need for prescription pain drugs in 70% of cases.

APOS treatment was developed in Israel in 2005. It consists of a 6-month program of care during which the patient wears customized footwear (Walkrights®) that is individually designed for each patient. A series of follow-up clinical assessments permits the footwear to be adjusted to meet changing pain needs. The footwear is intended to reduce pain by reducing the weight placed on the damaged area in the knees or back. The principle is to realign the body as it walks and at the same time introduce a mild instability, which encourages retraining the joints. APOS is reported to reduce the intensity of knee pain by about 66% within 8 weeks.

In Britain, APOS Treatment is covered by BUPA health insurance. Otherwise it costs the equivalent of about $4,750, spread over 6 months. A hard-headed health insurance company may see this as a relatively cheap form of long-term therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee or back – a worthwhile alternative to paying for frequent regular visits to a practitioner for pain meds, physical therapy, and so on. I doubt, however, if it find footing in the USA (no pun intended) without some well-conducted well-controlled clinical studies. In the meantime, you can always buy a cobblestone mat – it can lower your blood pressure, too!