Optimising Load Management in Knee Osteoarthritis with Markerless Motion Capture: The MAI Motion Approach

Introduction: The Everyday Challenge of Knee Osteoarthritis

For millions of people, living with knee osteoarthritis means coping with daily pain, stiffness, and restricted movement. This common condition leads to the gradual breakdown of cartilage in the knee, making even simple activities—like walking, getting up from a chair, or climbing stairs—difficult and often painful. These challenges can have a significant impact not just on mobility, but on overall quality of life. Fortunately, advances in technology are providing new tools to better understand and manage osteoarthritis . One exciting innovation is markerless motion capture —a breakthrough that lets us study how people move during everyday activities without uncomfortable markers or bulky gear. MAI Motion is at the forefront, offering an affordable and accessible way to analyse natural movement. In this article, we’ll explore how MAI Motion can help improve load management for people with knee osteoarthritis, potentially easing symptoms and supporting better daily function.

Why Markerless Motion Capture Matters in Knee Osteoarthritis Care

Accurately understanding knee movement is key to effective osteoarthritis treatment . Traditional assessment methods often rely on attaching markers to the body or using expensive imaging techniques. While these methods provide useful data, they can be intrusive and may affect how someone moves, limiting their ability to capture natural motion.

Markerless motion capture changes the game by using cameras and software to track how the body moves, without any physical attachments. This allows clinicians to observe real, unaltered movement patterns in a comfortable and familiar setting, giving a clearer picture of each patient’s challenges. With this technology, clinicians can spot subtle changes in mobility and better understand how osteoarthritis affects daily life. This deeper insight enables more personalised and effective treatment plans tailored to each person’s unique needs.

How Movement Analysis Helps Manage Load on the Knee

One of the most important aspects of managing knee osteoarthritis is understanding how the knee handles load—the forces it experiences during movement. Everyday activities, such as standing up from a chair, place different amounts of pressure on the joint and require various muscle groups to work together. How a person’s knee manages this load can reveal a lot about their mobility and overall function.

MAI Motion captures these movements in detail, highlighting even small shifts in how someone transfers weight or adapts as they move. For example, precise measurements of range of motion and load distribution can reveal early signs of compensation or trouble, long before they become obvious in day-to-day life. These insights help healthcare professionals design rehabilitation strategies that protect joint health, ease pain, and promote smoother movement. By tying together terms like “mobility,” “load management,” and “daily function,” MAI Motion helps bridge the gap between lab-based biomechanical data and real-world living.

Practical Benefits of MAI Motion in Clinical Settings

MAI Motion is designed to be both accurate and easy to use for clinicians and patients alike. Unlike traditional testing protocols that can be time-consuming and tiring—for example, asking patients to repeat a movement five times—MAI Motion uses a streamlined, three-repetition approach. Research shows that this shorter protocol provides reliable data that matches longer assessments, while being less demanding for patients.

This efficiency means that assessments can be performed quickly during regular check-ups or therapy sessions, making it practical for busy clinical settings. At the same time, the detailed movement data helps healthcare teams diagnose osteoarthritis, track progression, and measure how well treatments are working—all with minimal burden on the patient. Studies have found that this approach not only captures natural movement more accurately, but also improves comfort and compliance. By offering objective, easy-to-understand information about knee function in daily life, MAI Motion supports the creation of personalised care plans focused on keeping patients active, independent, and comfortable.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Osteoarthritis Management

Innovations like MAI Motion are opening up new possibilities for people living with knee osteoarthritis. By giving clinicians a clearer window into natural movement and how the knee responds to everyday stresses, this technology enables more effective, individualised care. As markerless motion capture continues to evolve, it has the potential to become a standard tool in osteoarthritis management —empowering patients and healthcare providers alike. Ongoing research and technological advances promise even greater benefits in the future, offering hope for lasting improvements in comfort, mobility, and quality of life.