Abstract
Osteoarthritis is a multifactorial disease in which altered mechanical loading is one of the agreed contributing factors. Whereas in the past, altered mechanical loading was merely deferred from static, image-based evaluations of malalignment, the recent use of 3D motion capture allowed dynamic evaluation of joint loading in terms of dynamic alignment (e.g. varus trust) and even joint loading strategy (merely using proxy measures like knee adduction moment.) Combining these measurements with musculoskeletal models, the overall loading distribution in the joint due to muscle action underlying the patient's motion pattern can be quantified. Using this approach, our group showed the potential of this technique to differentiate between control subjects and subjects with early medial knee OA before the presence of radiographic evidence of structural joint degradation. Nevertheless, no changes in loading distribution could be detected in a cohort of subjects suffering of local cartilage defects in an otherwise healthy knee joint, indicating that patients did not present active unloading strategies despite the presence of clinical symptoms. Furthermore, subject-specific strategies aiming contributing to modified loading of the hip joint have been evaluated.
