Knee osteoarthritis patients suffer from debiliating pain and inflammation due to the degradation of the knee joint. According to recent research, computer modelling makes it possible to predict the initiation and progression of knee osteoarthritis in overweight/obese people.

A study from the University of Eastern Finland revealed that a computational model based on the degradation of the collagen fibril network in the articular cartilage, was able to anticipate the onset and progression of the condition in overweight people during a four-year follow-up. On the other hand, osteoarthritis did not develop within this time span in normal-weight people.

A model of the knee joint to estimate the mechanical responses that are experienced by cartilage cells in healthy and osteoarthritic cartridge during daily activity like walking was also developed by the researchers.

The effect of meniscectomy- a commonly used method of knee surgery was estimated in the study and imitated overweight on cell response. During walking, both meniscectomy and simulated overweight substantially increased fluid pressures in the cell and cartilage tissue, although they did not have an consequence on the cell shape or volume in healthy cartilage. However, in osteoarthritic cartilage, cells were compressed and elongated more, maybe due to modified cartilage integrity.

A thorough understanding of the effects of abnormal loading, early osteoarthritis and mechanical injuries on cellular and tissue responses in cartilage is crucial. This knowledge will give way to develop novel techniques for the recognition, prevention and slowing down the progression of the disease. In the future, the ideas and techniques in the study may become widespread in specialised health care. However, in-depth clinical validation will be necessary before they can be implemented to clinical use.