Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is typically well diagnosed with a clinical evaluation and confirmed by conventional radiographic imaging. While this disease is associated with pain and functional impairments, there is a well-documented discordance between radiographic severity and symptoms in knee OA patients.

In order to update a technical literature review from 2012 on the knee kinesiography, a comprehensive review was carried out to identify materials published since which used this technology to improve the understanding of the relationships between biomechanical dysfunctions and OA severity and progression (clinically and radiographically). This innovative exam, which can be performed with a KneeKG™ system, quickly assesses and quantifies knee joint function in the sagittal (flexion-extension), frontal (varus-valgus), and transverse (internal-external rotation) planes while the patient is walking on a commercial treadmill.

This review showed that biomechanical dysfunctions assessed through a knee kinesiography exam were most strongly associated with pain and function than OA radiographic severity. Furthermore, the added value of this assessment tool was highlighted in the primary care and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) populations. Objective data from this exam showed to be clinically relevant in conservative treatment care, as an input measure to identify patients deemed appropriate for surgery, and helped assessing how function is restored post-TKA while acquiring new insights on the choice of implant and surgical techniques.

This study suggests that the knee kinesiography can act as an add-on to conventional imaging to gather relevant and objective functional data to help clinicians better understand knee OA, its progression and impact of TKA.