The majority of consistent gait deviations associated with KOA were exhibited by those with severe disease in the temporospatial domain .
There was a lack of evidence for alterations in the external knee adduction moment .
Individuals with KOA exhibit a range of gait deviations compared with controls .
Despite its common usage in KOA gait studies , we did not find consistent evidence that knee adduction moment differs between those with and without KOA or between disease severity levels .
OBJECTIVE To identify which gait deviations are consistently associated with knee osteoarthritis ( KOA ) and how these are influenced by disease severity , the involved compartment , and sex .
The knee adduction moment during gait in subjects with knee osteoarthritis is more closely correlated with static alignment than radiographic disease severity, toe out angle and pain.
This study tested whether the peak external knee adduction moments during walking in subjects with knee osteoarthritis ( OA ) were correlated with the mechanical axis of the leg , radiographic measures of OA severity , toe out angle or clinical assessment s of pain , stiffness or function .  Gait analysis was performed on 62 subjects with knee OA and 49 asymptomatic control subjects ( normal subjects ) . The subjects with OA walked with a greater than normal peak adduction moment during early stance ( p = 0.027 ) . In the OA group , the mechanical axis was the best single predictor of the peak adduction moment during both early and late stance ( R = 0.74 , p < 0.001 ) . The radiographic measures of OA severity in the medial compartment were also predictive of both peak adduction moments ( R = 0.43 to 0.48 , p < 0.001 ) along with the sum of the WOMAC subscales ( R = -0.33 to -0.31 , p < 0.017 ) . The toe out angle was predictive of the peak adduction moment only during late stance ( R = -0.45 , p < 0.001 ) . Once mechanical axis was accounted for , other factors only increased the ability to predict the peak knee adduction moments by 10 18 % . While the mechanical axis was indicative of the peak adduction moments , it only accounted for about 50 % of its variation , emphasizing the need for a dynamic evaluation of the knee joint loading environment . Underst and ing which clinical measures of OA are most closely associated with the dynamic knee joint loads may ultimately result in a better underst and ing of the disease process and the development of therapeutic interventions
The majority of consistent gait deviations associated with KOA were exhibited by those with severe disease in the temporospatial domain .
There was a lack of evidence for alterations in the external knee adduction moment .
Individuals with KOA exhibit a range of gait deviations compared with controls .
Despite its common usage in KOA gait studies , we did not find consistent evidence that knee adduction moment differs between those with and without KOA or between disease severity levels .
OBJECTIVE To identify which gait deviations are consistently associated with knee osteoarthritis ( KOA ) and how these are influenced by disease severity , the involved compartment , and sex .