£900 trainers to ease arthritis will save NHS cash, says watchdog

Knee-pain shoes are ‘good value for money’ as they could claw back thousands per patient over five years

OSTEOARTHRITIS patients should be given £900 trainers to alleviate knee pain on the NHS, the watchdog has said.

The condition, which is the most common type of arthritis in the UK, causes joints to become stiff and painful. Estimates suggest one in five people aged over 45 in England has knee osteoarthritis, with almost 40,000 knee surgeries taking place every year.

Under non-pharmacological treatment plans, patients with osteoarthritis of the knee are offered aids such as walking sticks, exercise regimes and weight-loss programmes.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said the NHS could save almost £2,000 per patient over five years by recommending specially designed shoes.

Apos, a foot-worn device that looks like a trainer and developed by Aposhealth, redistributes the pressure away from the affected areas and reduces knee pain.

The trainers, which cost £875 per person including the associated treatment, are fitted with rubber pods on the soles of the shoes that help the user to retrain muscles and correct irregular walking patterns.

A clinician can position the pods after analysing the patients walking pattern to personalise them to their gait.

Nice’s medical technology advisory committee has recommended the footwear for people who have not benefitted from non-surgical care, and who meet the criteria for surgery but either cannot or choose not to have it.

Mark Chapman, interim director of medical technology at Nice, said: “People with osteoarthritis of the knee can be in [pain] going about their day-today lives and the evidence seen by our committee suggests this can be improved by wearing these shoes.

“This recommendation will not only save the NHS money by balancing the best care with value for money, but it will also put a new innovation into the hands of health and care professionals to enable best practice.”

Evidence from a randomised controlled trial of the shoes shows it improves scores for measuring pain, stiffness and function when compared with a placebo device.

The committee has launched a consultation on the draft recommendations and called for further evidence. It will run until Dec 12.

Further evidence on the quality of life and long-term outcomes for people with osteoarthritis of the knee after using the shoes is needed, Nice said.

Apos trainers are worn for one hour a day, during normal activities, to introduce “controlled micro-instability”, where the patient corrects the body’s alignment.

Osteoarthritis in the joints occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of the bones breaks down.