Microsoft Word - csb_draft_feb15_liz_KJD_2_SB.docx

INTRODUCTION Currently, differences between the gait of osteoarthritic (OA) and Control subjects are most often quantified using knee adduction moment. This gait feature has a well-established relationship with osteoarthritis (OA) severity [3]. However, it has been suggested that total knee moment may be more relevant to knee osteoarthritis. Boyer et al [1] reported that the most sensitive measure for differentiating treatment effects for knee OA was the total peak knee moment than the knee adduction moment peak. Another recent study [2] reported that a combination of flexion and adduction moments better represented medial contact force than adduction moment alone. Total knee moment offers the advantage of being independent of the anatomical reference frames, and is therefore potentially less sensitive to inaccuracies in defining the joint axes.