The Lancet Rheumatology: Adjusting toe angles while walking can relieve knee arthritis pain and slow cartilage degeneration

A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial published in The Lancet Rheumatology found that teaching people with knee arthritis to walk with personalized toe angles—turning their feet inward or outward by 5° or 10°—significantly reduced pain after one year and showed signs of slowing cartilage degeneration. The 68 participants with mild to moderate arthritis were divided into two groups and trained for six weeks. The pain reduction was comparable to that of some commonly used medications, and the approach may address excessive joint loading, which painkillers cannot resolve.