The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) is a widely used, proprietary set of standardized

questionnaire A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions (or other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of ...

s used by health professionals to evaluate the condition of patients with

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of articular cartilage, joint cartilage and underlying bone. A form of arthritis, it is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, affect ...

of the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

and

hip In vertebrate anatomy, the hip, or coxaLatin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) (: ''coxae'') in medical terminology, refers to either an anatomical region or a joint on t ...

, including pain, stiffness, and physical functioning of the joints. The WOMAC has also been used to assess back pain,

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

juvenile rheumatoid arthritis Juvenile may refer to: In general *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) Music *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), stage name of American rapper Terius Gray *''Juveniles'', a 2020 studio album by the band Kingswoo ...

systemic lupus erythematosus Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...

, and

fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia (FM) is a functional somatic syndrome with symptoms of widespread chronic pain, accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbance including awakening unrefreshed, and Cognitive deficit, cognitive symptoms. Other symptoms can include he ...

. It can be self-administered and was developed at Western Ontario and McMaster Universities in 1982. Higher scores indicate worse pain, stiffness, and functional limitations. The WOMAC measures five items for

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...

(score range 0–20), two for stiffness (score range 0–8), and 17 for functional limitation (score range 0–68). Physical functioning questions cover everyday activities such as stair use, standing up from a sitting or lying position, standing, bending, walking, getting in and out of a car, shopping, putting on or taking off socks, lying in bed, getting in or out of a bath, sitting, and heavy and light household duties. The questions on the WOMAC are a subset of the questions of the Hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score (HOOS). Thus, a HOOS survey may also be used to determine a WOMAC score. A WOMAC test takes about 12 minutes, but is also available in a short form, (although this has not been as extensively tested as the full version). Versions of the WOMAC have also been developed that can be used in telephone or online surveys. It has been translated into more than 65 languages. The

American College of Rheumatology The American College of Rheumatology (ACR; until 1985 called American Rheumatism Association) is an organization of and for physicians, health professionals, and scientists that advances rheumatology through programs of education, research, advocac ...

notes that the test-retest reliability of the WOMAC varies for the pain, stiffness, and function subscales. The ACR says the pain subscale "has been variable across studies but generally meets the minimum standard." Reliability for the physical function scale "has been more consistent and stronger... but the stiffness subscale has shown low test-retest reliability." When used in clinical studies, the WOMAC pain and function subscales perform comparably or better than other tests in being responsive to change from experimental interventions, but this varies for the different subscales and types of intervention. An example of an arthritis study using the WOMAC found a significant exposure–response relationship between body weight loss (or gain) and clinically significant improvements (or declines) in WOMAC function and pain for people with osteoarthritis of the knee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Womac Arthritis Musculoskeletal radiographic signs Medical scoring system

See also

References