Foot Pain in Women Linked to Poor Shoe Choices

While foot pain is common, few studies have examined the condition in relationship to shoewear.   Alyssa Dufour, from Hebrew SeniorLife (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues studied data from 3,378 men and women enrolled the Framingham Study, average age 66 years, who completed the foot examination between 2002 and 2008.  The team analyzed the collected data characterizing the type of foot pain (nails, forefoot, hindfoot, heel, arch, or ball) and the types of shoes worn (good, average or poor, depending on their support and other characteristics).  The team found that among women, those who wore good shoes in the past were 67% less likely to report hindfoot pain (as compared to those wearing average shoes).  Good shoes are noted as athletic shoes or sneakers; average shoes included work boots and rubber- or hard-soled leather shoes; and pumps and sandals were considered as poor shoes.  The team concludes that:”Even after taking age and weight into account, past shoewear use in women remained associated with hindfoot pain.”