Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by cartilage damage resulting in pain, stiffness and decreased function. Over 4.4 million Canadians have OA, with a yearly economic impact of $7.6 million. This will worsen due to the aging population and obesity. The knee is most often affected, and more difficulty with activities such as walking and climbing stairs is reported by those with knee OA than any other medical condition. Because economic and personal burdens of knee OA increase as the disease worsens, treatments to slow progression are needed. Non-pharmaceutical and non-surgical treatments are recommended due to low cost and treatment risk. High knee loads play a role in progression, and a main research focus in the Motion Analysis and Biofeedback laboratory is developing knee OA treatments and looking at how they affect loading, pain and function. Muscle impairments (ex. decreased strength, changes in activity patterns) are reported with knee OA. Studies have looked at how exercise improves strength, but not at how patterns of muscle activity change. This is important, because patterns of activity can increase knee loading. Our research will use a novel technique to examine muscle activity, letting us look at patterns of activity within a single muscle. This will give new information about the role of muscle activity in knee loading. This is the first time this has been done in those with knee OA, so the first objective will be to develop a standardized protocol. The protocol will be used to assess changes in muscle activity following an exercise program. Because we can get more detailed information about what is going on in different parts of each muscle, this technology will allow us to develop patient-specific programs to target muscle impairments. Combined with clinical outcomes (pain and function), this research will provide new information needed to guide conservative treatment, thus improving quality of life while minimizing healthcare costs.