The use of the FreeBody lower limb model as a clinical tool
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The use of the FreeBody lower limb model as a clinical tool for the assessment of knee osteoarthritis
IRAS ID
174578
Contact name
Conor Gissane
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St Mary's University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 19 days
Research summary
A number of musculoskeletal models have been developed to investigate muscular and knee joint loading patterns in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. This has provided the opportunity for a more detailed investigation into the loading of particular knee structures and the muscular strategies which cause them. The FreeBody lower limb model is a freely available musculoskeletal model which aims to provide a user-friendly assessment tool for use in a clinical and rehabilitative setting. The FreeBody model shows promise as to its use to evaluate knee pathologies in a clinical setting. However, further research is needed to determine the efficacy of the FreeBody model for assessing knee OA.
The following summary provides an outline to the data collection for three studies to assess the clinical use of the FreeBody model. Healthy participants (n=37) and participants with knee OA (n=37) will be recruited for this study. Motion data and ground reaction data will be collected during activities of daily living. These data will provide model inputs for the calculation of knee loads and muscle forces. In addition, data on pain and knee function will be self-reported using a VAS scale and WOMAC questionnaire. Data will be collected twice during the first session separated with a gap of one hour. These data will allow for the reliability of the model to be determined, and provide a joint loading comparison between symptomatic and asymptomatic knees. A third data collection session will occur five weeks later after the participants have taken part in a neuromuscular rehabilitation intervention. Both groups will perform the same neuromuscular intervention. The OA group will perform each training session at Kingston Hospital and the healthy knee group will perform their training sessions at St Mary’s University. Pre- and post-intervention data for both groups will be compared. All data collection will occur in the biomechanics laboratory at St Mary’s University. This research project is funded internally by the School of Sport, Health and Applied Science. We aim to complete all three studies within one year.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0668
Date of REC Opinion
14 May 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion