WOMAC - Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index This scale is used commonly in assessment of hip and knee OA.

It is a questionnaire consisting of 24 items, which are subdivided into 3 categories.

1. Pain (5 items) - during walking, using stairs, in bed, sitting or lying, and standing upright
2. Stiffness (2 items) - after first waking and later in the day
3. 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

WOMAC index is now also used for other rheumatic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, systemic lupus erythematosus and low back pain. The questions in the scale are scored from 0-4

0 - None

1 - Mild

2 - Moderate

3 - Severe

4 – Extreme

All the scores for all questions are summed up to get the final score for pain, stiffness and physical function. Higher the sum of the scores, greater indication for worse pain, stiffness and functional limitations.