Obesity and Walking: Implications for Knee Osteoarthritis and Plantar Heel Pain

Obesity is closely associated with a multitude of musculoskeletal conditions. Many musculoskeletal diseases, including knee osteoarthritis and foot pain, are commonly thought to be related to mechanical overload, and the link to obesity intuitively supports such a notion. Walking is significantly changed in the presence of obesity—changes that are similar to those associated with physical disability among individuals in need of personal assistance in daily life. However, although obesity, osteoarthritis, and other painful musculoskeletal conditions exhibit similar changes in locomotion biomechanics, longitudinal data that confidently demonstrate a causal biomechanical link between obesity and osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis do not exist and are needed to design better and rational treatments of patients with coexistence of obesity and musculoskeletal disorders.