W.O.M.A.C score

The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) is widely used in the evaluation of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis. It is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 24 items divided into 3 subscales:

Pain (5 items): during walking, using stairs, in bed, sitting or lying, and standing upright

Stiffness (2 items): after first waking and later in the day

Physical Function (17 items): using stairs, rising from sitting, standing, bending, walking, getting in / out of a car, shopping, putting on / taking off socks, rising from bed, lying in bed, getting in / out of bath, sitting, getting on / off toilet, heavy domestic duties, light domestic duties.

The WOMAC takes approximately 12 minutes to complete, and can be taken on paper, over the telephone or computer. Both the computerized and the mobile versions of the test have been found to be comparable to the paper form, with no significant difference.

The test questions are scored on a scale of 0-4, which correspond to: None (0), Mild (1), Moderate (2), Severe (3), and Extreme (4).

The scores for each subscale are summed up, with a possible score range of 0-20 for Pain, 0-8 for Stiffness, and 0-68 for Physical Function. Usually a sum of the scores for all three subscales gives a total WOMAC score, however there are other methods that have been used to combine scores.

Higher scores on the WOMAC indicate worse pain, stiffness, and functional limitations.