The influence of pain on tibiofemoral joint contact force and muscle forces in knee osteoarthritis patients during stair ascent

Abstract

This study investigated the tibiofemoral joint (TFJ) forces and supporting muscle forces displayed by knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients during stair ascent, and if these forces were influenced by the presence of pain. Fifteen knee OA patients partitioned into two groups based on pain experienced during stair ascent trails using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (OA-pain = 10; OA-no pain = 5) and 14 healthy aged-matched controls took part in this study. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected during three stair ascent trials, which provided the inputs for the musculoskeletal model FreeBody. TFJ contact forces and muscles forces were predicted by the model at early, mid- and late stance. These variables were compared between groups using a one-way analysis of variance. The results show the OA-pain (P