Men's shoes and knee joint torques relevant to the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: To determine if men's dress shoes and sneakers increase knee joint torques and play the same role in the development and/or progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA) as women's high-heeled dress shoes.

Methods: Three-dimensional data regarding lower extremity torques and motion were collected during walking in 22 healthy men while (1) wearing dress shoes, (2) wearing sneakers, and (3) barefoot. Data were plotted and qualitatively compared; major peak values were statistically compared between conditions.