Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the feet of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients,
to determine the degree to which both feet were affected, primarily analyzing the severity of RA in
both feet looking at structure and morphology, and secondly looking at the symmetry in terms of the
anthropometrics and posture. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to
December 2018. The data from 229 patients with RA and with foot pain and no RA recruited (Granada,
Spain) were analyzed. Two researchers independently interviewed the patients to obtain the study
data. The clinical data were obtained using specific foot health and quality of life questionnaires
and a validated platform for foot measurement. Anthropometric measurements were obtained by
means of a foot measurement platform and the Foot Posture Index (FPI). The bivariate analysis was
performed with the Student’s t test and the non-parametricWilcoxon test. The level of significance
was established at p < 0.05. Results: In the RA group, anthropometric measurements revealed
significant differences between the left and right feet in 13 of the 23 parameters considered, as follows:
(non-load-bearing) foot length, length of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, maximum height of the
internal longitudinal arch, and width of the midfoot (p < 0.001, p = 0.038, p < 0.001, and p = 0.037
respectively); and Foot Posture Index (p = 0.001). Conclusions: In patients with RA, statistically
significant differences were found in the Foot Posture Index and in several parameters related to
foot structure and morphology. From this, we conclude that from a morphological, structural, and
postural standpoint, a pattern of symmetric joint involvement should not be viewed as a specific
criterion for RA in the foot.
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