改变走路姿势，或可减轻膝盖疼痛
People suffering from knee arthritis may be able to reduce their pain without pills or surgery – simply by changing the way they walk.
Researchers from three American universities studied 68 people with mild to moderate arthritis on the inner side of the knee. Half of them were taught to turn their feet slightly inwards or outwards as they walked, by just five or ten degrees. The best angle was chosen for each person after testing in a lab. The other half kept walking normally.
Participants learned the new walking style over six weekly sessions on a treadmill. They wore a small device on the leg that vibrated whenever their foot drifted from the correct angle. After that, they practised for at least 20 minutes a day.
After a year, pain levels in the group that changed their walking had dropped by an average of 2.5 points on a ten-point scale – about twice as much as in the other group. Scans also suggested that the cartilage in their knees was wearing away more slowly.
The researchers say the method is cheap, safe and easy to fit into daily life. However, the study was small, and they warn people not to try changing their walking style on their own without first being assessed by a professional.
膝关节炎患者也许不用吃药、不用开刀，只要改变走路的方式，就能减轻疼痛。
美国三所大学的研究人员研究了 68 名膝盖内侧有轻度到中度关节炎的患者。其中一半人学习在走路时把脚尖稍微向内或向外转，角度只有五度或十度；每个人最合适的角度都是在实验室里测出来的。另一半人照常走路。
参与者在跑步机上分六周、每周一次学习新的走路方式。他们腿上戴着一个小装置，一旦脚的角度偏了，装置就会振动提醒。之后，他们每天至少练习 20 分钟。
一年后，改变走路方式的那组人，疼痛程度在十分制的评分中平均下降了 2.5 分，大约是另一组的两倍。扫描结果还显示，他们膝盖软骨磨损的速度似乎也慢了一些。
研究人员说，这种方法便宜、安全，又很容易融入日常生活。不过，这项研究规模较小，他们提醒大家，不要在没有经过专业人士评估的情况下，自己随意改变走路姿势。