The relationship between health and quality of life with the feet, ankles and knees

The research is available in PDF format. Click here to download the file.

Results

A survey was conducted with 3,316 people online using the “Survey Monkey” software. The research investigated the relationship between health, quality of life, and characteristics of the feet, ankles, and knees. The survey was conducted between August and October 2017, and the main findings of the research were:

  • People with foot pain want to live less.
  • Increased foot pain causes 70% of the population to stay home for at least one day per year. The same effect occurs with increased ankle and knee pain.
  • Foot pain causes a noticeable decline in people’s mood and a significant reduction in energy and vigor.
  • Foot pain significantly worsens people’s social life and increases levels of sadness and depression.
  • Foot, ankle, and knee pain lead to a decline in the perception of health.
  • Only 51% of respondents consider their health to be very good or excellent, while 14% report having fair or poor health.
  • When comparing men and women, it was observed that women perceive their health to be worse than men.
  • The perception of health shows a slight decline with age.
  • Only 10.4% of women and 16.8% of men engage in vigorous activities without difficulty.
  • 54% of the population has some difficulty in performing moderate tasks.
  • The ease of engaging in physical activity declines with increasing age and weight.
  • Aerobic and anaerobic exercises improve the ability to engage in moderate and vigorous activities.
  • The more hours of exercise, the lower the chance of developing hypertension and diabetes.
  • Walking (44%) and weightlifting (16%) are the most practiced sports among people, followed by running (12%).
  • 9% of men and 7% of women are smokers, while 14% of the population reports having smoked.
  • Above 6 hours of standing, 63% of men and 70% of women cannot stand for more than 3 hours without experiencing foot pain. Additionally, from the age of 50, the tolerance for standing decreases significantly.
  • 88.5% of men and 92.5% of women experience some level of foot pain, with 14.5% of men and 21.2% of women reporting severe pain.
  • The main areas of foot pain are: heel (47%), metatarsals (36%), and arch of the foot (22.5%). 59% of men and 61% of women have some ankle pain, with 11.4% of men and 13.4% of women experiencing severe pain.
  • 65.3% of men and 70.6% of women have some knee pain, with 12.2% of men and 18.6% of women experiencing severe pain.