Table Of Contents
Editorial note: SciMoTech is an FDA-registered Class I medical device. This is the maximum FDA-related claim that can be made for SciMoTech — terms like “FDA cleared” or “FDA approved” do not apply and must not be used. Some claims below reference published research on gait retraining as a treatment category, including research on AposTherapy, a related foot-worn gait-retraining product. That research provides general context for the category; it is not clinical evidence for SciMoTech specifically. SciMoTech’s own clinical data is internal, unpublished, and has not undergone peer review, and is not cited here. SciMoTech Therapy is a conservative care option for patients to explore, typically before a surgical decision, alongside guidance from their physician. SciMoTech Therapy is not marketed as a way to delay, prevent, or avoid surgery.
A diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis, even a significant one, doesn’t mean surgery has to happen right away. Many patients spend time working through conservative strategies first, in consultation with their doctor, before deciding whether or when surgery makes sense for them.
What Surgery Involves, Honestly
Total knee replacement is a well-established and often successful procedure — the AAOS reports over 90% of replacements are still functioning after 15 years, with serious complications like infection occurring in fewer than 2% of patients. But it’s still major surgery: recovery typically takes months, and some patients continue to experience discomfort even after a technically successful operation. Roughly 700,000 of these procedures are performed in the US each year.
Conservative Options Worth Discussing With Your Doctor — Compared
Weight management
Pros: The IDEA trial (JAMA, 2013) found that a ≥10% reduction in body weight through diet, particularly combined with exercise, meaningfully reduced knee joint loads, inflammation, and symptoms compared with exercise alone
Cons: Requires sustained effort over months to see full benefit
Targeted strengthening
Pros: Improves joint stability and shock absorption
Cons: Doesn’t directly correct uneven loading patterns during walking
Anti-inflammatory management
Pros: Can improve day-to-day comfort
Cons: Symptom management only; corticosteroid injections specifically have been linked in RCT data (injections every 3 months over 2 years, studied against placebo) to greater cartilage loss without improved pain outcomes — worth discussing with your doctor, since injections remain a standard and widely used part of care
Activity modification
Pros: Reduces cumulative stress, low cost
Cons: Doesn’t resolve the underlying mechanical problem
Gait modification therapy
Pros: Focuses on how force loads the knee joint with each step. Research on gait retraining as a treatment category has shown reductions in medial knee joint loading and improvements in patient-reported pain and function. Non-invasive and drug-free, and a conservative option worth discussing with your doctor as part of a broader plan.
Cons: Requires daily consistency; SciMoTech Therapy is intended as a conservative care option to explore, not a guaranteed alternative to surgery, and is not indicated for cases of severe structural damage or instability
Gait Modification as a Conservative Care Option
Gait modification therapy is a movement-focused, non-surgical approach: it uses gait analysis and custom, footwear-based technology to help support more balanced joint loading during everyday walking. It is intended as a conservative care option to explore — alongside strengthening, weight management, and your doctor’s guidance — while you and your physician are working through a surgical decision together. It is not marketed or intended as a way to delay, avoid, or prevent the need for surgery, and no such outcome is claimed or guaranteed.
Talking This Through With Your Doctor
Whether conservative care makes sense for you — and for how long — depends on your pain, function, imaging findings, and overall health. This is a conversation to have directly with your orthopedic provider, who can help you weigh conservative options against the timing of a surgical decision.
The Whole-Body Picture
Research on gait retraining as a treatment category — including published research on AposTherapy, a related foot-worn gait-retraining product — has looked at effects beyond the knee, including hip and lower back pain. This is included here as general context for the treatment category, not as clinical evidence for SciMoTech specifically. SciMoTech is an FDA-registered Class I medical device, and no joint-specific clinical outcomes are established or claimed for SciMoTech itself.
If you’ve been compensating for knee pain by shifting weight elsewhere, that pattern can quietly create hip, back, or opposite-knee discomfort. Addressing your gait as a whole is one reason some patients find this option worth discussing with their doctor alongside a broader treatment plan.
Have the Conversation
If you’d like to explore conservative, gait-focused options as part of your care plan, book your initial consultation to get a personalized gait assessment and discuss it with a clinician.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your surgeon about post-operative symptoms.
Sources: AAOS OrthoInfo, Total Knee Replacement; Messier et al., JAMA, 2013; McAlindon et al., JAMA, 2017; gait retraining systematic review/meta-analysis, Gait & Posture, 2022; Bar-Ziv et al., BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2010; Bar-Ziv et al., Arthritis, 2013 (AposTherapy research, cited as category context only, not as SciMoTech-specific clinical evidence).
