No shoes are good shoes, research now says

By Julie Sevrens Lyons
KNIGHT RIDDER

Stiletto-loving women may be getting the last laugh.

Sure, research has shown that if you're concerned about bunions, hammertoes, foot deformities, arthritis of the knee -- and, of course, comfort -- ultra-high heels aren't the footwear of choice.

But now scientists say that orthopedic shoes -- sensible, expensive and just plain plain -- aren't that much better.

In a finding that would surprise nurses and waitresses, University of Virginia researchers found that lace-up orthopedic shoes with a 11/2-inch heel put immense pressure on a woman's knees, something that has been implicated in osteoarthritis.

The custom-made footwear fared little better than stilettos or chunky heels did in previous studies. All have been linked to knee pressure.

In fact, lead researcher Dr. D. Casey Kerrigan could come up with only one good reason to wear them: They "keep you from stepping on a nail."

While women should be bemoaning the fact that there are few good options to ensure healthy feet and knees, many strolling along Santana Row on Thursday had the opposite reaction.

"It's perfect. We can wear better-looking shoes and have the same effect," quipped 22-year-old Rona Ji of Mountain View. Ji said she owns more than 30 pairs of shoes, orthopedic kicks not among them.

Critics refer to them as "cop shoes." "Nun shoes."

"Matronly," said fortysomething San Jose resident Janet Gonzales.

"They look like my grandma's shoes," opined Meredith Culler, a business administration major at UC Santa Cruz. She'll stick with heels and flip-flops, thanks.

Oh, women might be tempted to turn to platform shoes or trendy cowboy boots. But Kerrigan said she doesn't have to study them in her lab to know they're not the best candidates, either.

As a general rule of thumb, the flatter the shoe, the better, she said. Men's dress shoes and sneakers, for example, have been found to increase knee pressure only slightly. And men are about half as likely as women to have osteoarthritis in their knee joints.

Perhaps fashion-forward women might want to consider starting a new trend: the bohemian look.

Because, Kerrigan said, compared to shoes, "Barefoot's a good thing."