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Foot pain: is current or past shoewear a factor?
Alyssa B Dufour1, Kerry E Broe, Uyen-Sa D T Nguyen
1Boston University School of Public Health and the Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, Massachusetts 02131, USA. alyssadufour@hrca.havard.edu
Arthritis and Rheumatism
|October 1, 2009
Summary
Past use of good shoes in women was linked to a 67% reduction in hindfoot pain. This study highlights the importance of footwear choices for foot health in women.
Area of Science:
- Podiatry
- Epidemiology
- Biomechanical Engineering
Background:
- Foot pain is a prevalent condition affecting a significant portion of the population.
- Limited research has explored the direct relationship between footwear choices and the development of foot pain.
- The Framingham Foot Study provided a unique opportunity to investigate this association in a large, population-based cohort.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between different types of footwear and the occurrence of generalized and location-specific foot pain.
- To investigate potential sex differences in the relationship between shoewear and foot pain.
- To identify specific footwear characteristics that may contribute to or alleviate foot pain.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 3,378 participants from the Framingham Foot Study (2002-2008).
- Foot pain was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire regarding pain, aching, or stiffness.
- Shoewear habits were recorded for current and past age categories and classified into 'good,' 'average,' or 'poor' quality groups.
- Sex-specific multivariate logistic regression models adjusted for age and weight were employed.
Main Results:
- In women, past use of good quality shoes was significantly associated with a 67% lower likelihood of reporting hindfoot pain (P = 0.02), after adjusting for covariates.
- No significant association between shoewear type and foot pain was observed in men.
- The lack of association in men may be attributed to the low prevalence (<2%) of participants reporting poor shoe types, limiting statistical power.
Conclusions:
- Past shoewear habits, specifically the use of good quality shoes, demonstrate a significant association with reduced hindfoot pain in women, even after accounting for age and weight.
- The findings suggest that footwear plays a role in the etiology of foot pain in women.
- Further research is warranted to investigate the specific structural and supportive features of footwear that influence foot health and pain.
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