Skip to main content

Osteoarthritis - from basic and translational approaches to clinical practice

Guest Editor: Professor Ali Mobasheri (University of Surrey, UK)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and is characterized by damage or breakdown of articular cartilage in load-bearing joints, particularly in the knees, hips and hands. The disorder is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and results in pain, stiffness, joint deformity and loss of joint mobility, which often develop slowly over time. There are a number of risk factors associated with OA, including age, obesity, metabolic disease, previous joint injury, abnormal joint loading and biomechanics, genetics and systemic inflammation. However, OA predominantly affects older people, often co-existing with other comorbid conditions associated with aging.

Read the published content in this thematic series covering all aspects of research into osteoarthritis from studies investigating the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms through to those describing clinical practice.

Articles

  1. Accelerated knee osteoarthritis (AKOA) is characterized by more pain, impaired physical function, and greater likelihood to receive a joint replacement compared to individuals who develop the typical gradual o...

    Authors: Matthew S. Harkey, Julie E. Davis, Bing Lu, Lori Lyn Price, Robert J. Ward, James W. MacKay, Charles B. Eaton, Grace H. Lo, Mary F. Barbe, Ming Zhang, Jincheng Pang, Alina C. Stout, Timothy E. McAlindon and Jeffrey B. Driban
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:241
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  2. High molecular weight (HMW) hyaluronic acid (HA) is a treatment option for knee osteoarthritis (OA). The efficacy of HMW-HA in knee OA is investigated extensively, but the effectiveness in patients in the work...

    Authors: Job Hermans, Sita M. A. Bierma-Zeinstra, Pieter K. Bos, Dieu Donne Niesten, Jan A. N. Verhaar and Max Reijman
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:196
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  3. Osteoarthritis (OA) in the thumb carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ) is a prevalent disease which may lead to structural damage, severe pain and functional limitations. Evidence-based treatment recommendations state ...

    Authors: Else Marit Holen Gravås, Anne Therese Tveter, Randi Nossum, Ruth Else Mehl Eide, Åse Klokkeide, Karin Hoegh Matre, Monika Olsen, Øyvor Andreassen, Nina Østerås, Ida Kristin Haugen and Ingvild Kjeken
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:180
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  4. There is no cure for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and typically patients live approximately 30-years with the disease. Most common medical treatments result in short-term palliation of symptoms with little consid...

    Authors: Jonathon Charlesworth, Jane Fitzpatrick, Nirmala Kanthi Panagodage Perera and John Orchard
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:151
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  5. It has been suggested that smoking is associated with reduced risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, supplementary studies are needed to further investigate any such potential association. Thus, our aim wa...

    Authors: Marianne Bakke Johnsen, Kenneth Pihl, Nis Nissen, Rasmus Reinholdt Sørensen, Uffe Jørgensen, Martin Englund and Jonas Bloch Thorlund
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:141
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  6. The synovial membrane adjacent to the articular cartilage is home to synovial mesenchymal progenitor cell (sMPC) populations that have the ability to undergo chondrogenesis. While it has been hypothesized that...

    Authors: Asmaa Affan, Nedaa Al-Jezani, Pamela Railton, James N. Powell and Roman J. Krawetz
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:125
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  7. Comprehensive national joint replacement registries with well-validated data offer unique opportunities for examining the potential future burden of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) at a population level. This...

    Authors: Ilana N. Ackerman, Megan A. Bohensky, Ella Zomer, Mark Tacey, Alexandra Gorelik, Caroline A. Brand and Richard de Steiger
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:90
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  8. There is a pressing need to enhance osteoarthritis (OA) research to find ways of alleviating its enormous individual and societal impact due to the high prevalence, associated disability, and extensive costs.

    Authors: David J. Hunter, Philippa J. A. Nicolson, Christopher B. Little, Sarah R. Robbins, Xia Wang and Kim L. Bennell
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:74
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  9. Preclinical osteoarthritis models where damage occurs spontaneously may better reflect the initiation and development of human osteoarthritis. The aim was to assess the commercial pig as a model of spontaneous...

    Authors: Mhairi A. Macfadyen, Zoe Daniel, Sara Kelly, Tim Parr, John M. Brameld, Andrew J. Murton and Simon W. Jones
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2019 20:70
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. Osteoarthritis is a degradative joint disease found in humans and commercial swine which can develop from a number of factors, including prior joint trauma. An impact injury model was developed to deliver in v...

    Authors: R. S. McCulloch, P. L. Mente, A. T. O’Nan and M. S. Ashwell
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:449
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  11. Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with worsening physical function and a high prevalence of comorbid health conditions. In particular, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is higher in individuals with OA than th...

    Authors: Michela Corsi, Carolina Alvarez, Leigh F. Callahan, Rebecca J. Cleveland, Yvonne M. Golightly, Joanne M. Jordan, Amanda E. Nelson, Jordan Renner, Allen Tsai and Kelli D. Allen
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:393
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  12. In this paper we investigate patients seeking care for a new diagnosis of shoulder osteoarthritis (OA) and the association between a patient’s initial physician specialty choice and one-year surgical and conse...

    Authors: Sarah B Floyd, Cole G Chapman, Ellen Shanley, Lauren Ruffrage, Eldon Matthia, Peter Cooper and John M Brooks
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:349
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  13. The Pain Coping Skills Training for African Americans with OsteoaRTthritis (STAART) trial is examining the effectiveness of a culturally enhanced pain coping skills training (CST) program for African Americans wi...

    Authors: Kelli D. Allen, Liubov Arbeeva, Crystal W. Cené, Cynthia J. Coffman, Kimberlea F. Grimm, Erin Haley, Francis J. Keefe, Caroline T. Nagle, Eugene Z. Oddone, Tamara J. Somers, Yashika Watkins and Lisa C. Campbell
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:337
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  14. Knee bone shape differs between men and women and the incidence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is higher in women than in men. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether the observed dif...

    Authors: Barton L. Wise, Jingbo Niu, Yuqing Zhang, Felix Liu, Joyce Pang, John A. Lynch and Nancy E. Lane
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:331
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  15. Individuals with advanced hip osteoarthritis (OA) exhibit generalized muscle weakness of the affected limb and so clinical practice guidelines recommend strength training for the management of hip OA. However,...

    Authors: Aderson Loureiro, Maria Constantinou, Laura E. Diamond, Belinda Beck and Rod Barrett
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:303
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  16. This study aimed to a) describe the prevalence of knee and hip osteoarthritis risk factors in a population of 29–59 year old individuals, b) estimate the association between persistent knee/hip pain and osteoa...

    Authors: Joyce A. C. van Tunen, George Peat, Alessio Bricca, Lars B. Larsen, Jens Søndergaard, Trine Thilsing, Ewa M. Roos and Jonas B. Thorlund
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:300
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  17. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain and disability. NICE OA guidelines (2008) recommend that patients with OA should be offered core treatments in primary care. Assessments of OA management have ide...

    Authors: Emma Louise Healey, Ebenezer K. Afolabi, Martyn Lewis, John J. Edwards, Kelvin P. Jordan, Andrew Finney, Clare Jinks, Elaine M. Hay and Krysia S. Dziedzic
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:295
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  18. The major complaint of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is persistent pain. Unlike acute inflammatory pain, persistent pain is usually difficult to manage since its pathology is not fully understood. To elucidate the ...

    Authors: Takashi Hoshino, Kunikazu Tsuji, Hiroaki Onuma, Mio Udo, Hiroko Ueki, Masako Akiyama, Kahaer Abula, Hiroki Katagiri, Kazumasa Miyatake, Toshihumi Watanabe, Ichiro Sekiya, Hideyuki Koga and Takeshi Muneta
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:291
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  19. To investigate (1) the association of specific biomechanical factors with knee osteoarthritis and knee osteoarthritis development, and (2) the impact of other relevant risk factors on this association.

    Authors: Joyce A. C. van Tunen, Andrea Dell’Isola, Carsten Juhl, Joost Dekker, Martijn Steultjens, Jonas B. Thorlund and Hans Lund
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:273
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  20. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) causes substantial pain, physical dysfunction and impaired quality of life. There is no cure for knee OA, and for some people, the disease may involve progressive symptomatic and struc...

    Authors: Kade L. Paterson, David J. Hunter, Ben R. Metcalf, Jillian Eyles, Vicky Duong, Jessica Kazsa, Yuanyuan Wang, Rachelle Buchbinder, Flavia Cicuttini, Andrew Forbes, Anthony Harris, Shirley P. Yu, Bing Hui Wang, David Connell, James Linklater and Kim L. Bennell
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:272
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  21. The progressive, debilitating nature of knee and hip osteoarthritis can result in severe, persistent pain and disability, potentially leading to a need for total joint arthroplasty (TJA) in end-stage osteoarth...

    Authors: Kristine Godziuk, Carla M. Prado, Linda J. Woodhouse and Mary Forhan
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:271
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  22. Sufficient lower extremity muscle strength is necessary for performing functional tasks, and individuals with knee osteoarthritis demonstrate thigh muscle weakness compared to controls. It has been suggested t...

    Authors: Brittney A. Luc-Harkey, Clare E. Safran-Norton, Lisa A. Mandl, Jeffrey N. Katz and Elena Losina
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:258
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  23. To examine whether number of physical therapy (PT) visits or amount of use of an internet-based exercise training (IBET) program is associated with differential improvement in outcomes for participants with kn...

    Authors: Megan Pignato, Liubov Arbeeva, Todd A. Schwartz, Leigh F. Callahan, Jennifer Cooke, Yvonne M. Golightly, Adam P. Goode, Bryan C. Heiderscheit, Carla Hill, Kim M. Huffman, Herbert H. Severson and Kelli D. Allen
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:238
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  24. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of musculoskeletal pain and disability globally, and abnormal knee loading is central to disease pathogenesis. Clinical guidelines recommend clinicians provide advic...

    Authors: Kade L. Paterson, Kim L. Bennell, Tim V. Wrigley, Ben R. Metcalf, Penny K. Campbell, Jessica Kazsa and Rana S. Hinman
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:219
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  25. Evidence on the effectiveness of intra-articular corticosteroid injection for hip osteoarthritis is limited and conflicting. The primary objective of the Hip Injection Trial (HIT) is to compare pain intensity ...

    Authors: Zoe Paskins, Gemma Hughes, Helen Myers, Emily Hughes, Susie Hennings, Andrea Cherrington, Amy Evans, Melanie Holden, Kay Stevenson, Ajit Menon, Kieran Bromley, Philip Roberts, Alison Hall, George Peat, Clare Jinks, Raymond Oppong…
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:218
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  26. Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that slow bone loss and are a promising candidate to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients. In a pilot study, we demonstrated that zoledronic acid reduced knee pain and s...

    Authors: Dawn Aitken, Laura L. Laslett, Guoqi Cai, Catherine Hill, Lyn March, Anita E. Wluka, Yuanyuan Wang, Leigh Blizzard, Flavia Cicuttini and Graeme Jones
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:217
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  27. There is consistent evidence from observational studies of an association between occupational lifting and carrying of heavy loads and the diagnosis of hip osteoarthritis. However, due to the heterogeneity of ...

    Authors: Andreas Seidler, Laura Lüben, Janice Hegewald, Ulrich Bolm-Audorff, Annekatrin Bergmann, Falk Liebers, Christina Ramdohr, Karla Romero Starke, Alice Freiberg and Susanne Unverzagt
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:182
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  28. Cartilage calcification (CC) is associated with osteoarthritis (OA) in weight-bearing joints, such as the hip and the knee. However, little is known about the impact of CC and degeneration on other weight-bear...

    Authors: Jan Hubert, Lukas Weiser, Sandra Hischke, Annemarie Uhlig, Tim Rolvien, Tobias Schmidt, Sebastian Karl Butscheidt, Klaus Püschel, Wolfgang Lehmann, Frank Timo Beil and Thelonius Hawellek
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:169
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  29. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder worldwide and one of the leading causes of disability in the elderly. We have investigated the novel sodium hyaluronate derivative chemically linked with d...

    Authors: Keiji Yoshioka, Tomochika Kisukeda, Ryoji Zuinen, Yosuke Yasuda and Kenji Miyamoto
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:157
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  30. The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) is a commonly used knee assessment and outcome tool in both clinical work and research. However, it has not been formally translated and validated in Fin...

    Authors: Juhani Multanen, Mikko Honkanen, Arja Häkkinen and Ilkka Kiviranta
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:155
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  31. Lower limb strengthening, especially the quadriceps training, is of much necessity for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Previous studies suggest that strengthening of the hip muscles, especially the hip a...

    Authors: Yujie Xie, Chi Zhang, Wei Jiang, Juan Huang, Lili Xu, Guoyin Pang, Haiyan Tang, Ruyan Chen, Jihua Yu, Shengmin Guo, Fangyuan Xu and Jianxiong Wang
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:147
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

  32. To increase the uptake of key clinical recommendations for non-surgical management of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and improve patient outcomes, we developed a new model of service delivery (PARTNER model) and an ...

    Authors: David J. Hunter, Rana S. Hinman, Jocelyn L. Bowden, Thorlene Egerton, Andrew M. Briggs, Stephen J. Bunker, Jessica Kasza, Andrew B. Forbes, Simon D. French, Marie Pirotta, Deborah J. Schofield, Nicholas A. Zwar and Kim L. Bennell
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:132
    Content type: Study protocol Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:443

  33. Differences between staged bilateral total knee replacement (TKR) and simultaneous bilateral TKR have been investigated, but few studies have investigated differences in the functional improvements resulting f...

    Authors: Yu-Hao Huang, Chin Lin, Jia-Hwa Yang, Leou-Chyr Lin, Chih-Yuan Mou, Kwo-Tsao Chiang, Man-Gang Lee, Hsien-Feng Chang, Hsueh-Lu Chang, Wen Su, Shih-Jen Yeh, Hung Chang, Chih-Chien Wang and Sui-Lung Su
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:87
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  34. Articular cartilage degeneration has been evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, this method has several problems, including its time-consuming nature and the requirement of a high magnetic fi...

    Authors: Okihiro Onishi, Kazuya Ikoma, Masamitsu Kido, Yukichi Kabuto, Keiichiro Ueshima, Ken-ichi Matsuda, Masaki Tanaka and Toshikazu Kubo
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:81
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  35. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis affecting the elderly. Understanding the risk factors for knee OA has been derived from cross sectional studies. There have been few longitudinal s...

    Authors: Jong Jin Yoo, Dong Hyun Kim and Hyun Ah Kim
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:80
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  36. Few studies have examined patterns of specific sleep problems among individuals with osteoarthritis (OA). The primary objective of this study was to examine prevalence of symptoms of insomnia and obstructive s...

    Authors: Shannon Stark Taylor, Jaime M. Hughes, Cynthia J. Coffman, Amy S. Jeffreys, Christi S. Ulmer, Eugene Z. Oddone, Hayden B. Bosworth, William S. Yancy Jr and Kelli D. Allen
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:79
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  37. Mobilization of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the synovium was revealed using a “suspended synovium culture model” of osteoarthritis (OA). The pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differs from that of O...

    Authors: Yuji Kohno, Mitsuru Mizuno, Nobutake Ozeki, Hisako Katano, Koji Otabe, Hideyuki Koga, Mikio Matsumoto, Haruka Kaneko, Yuji Takazawa and Ichiro Sekiya
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:78
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  38. Knee osteoarthritis patients may become physically inactive due to pain and functional limitations. Whether physical activity exerts a protective or harmful effect depends on the frequency, intensity, time and...

    Authors: Maik Sliepen, Elsa Mauricio, Matthijs Lipperts, Bernd Grimm and Dieter Rosenbaum
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:64
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  39. Exercise interventions improve clinical outcomes of pain and function in adults with knee pain due to osteoarthritis and higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower severity of pain and higher...

    Authors: Jonathan G. Quicke, Nadine E. Foster, Peter R. Croft, Reuben O. Ogollah and Melanie A. Holden
    Citation: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2018 19:59
    Content type: Research article Published on: