Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common joint pathology worldwide, causes structural and functional failure of synovial joints with loss and erosion of the articular cartilage [3, 20]. The prevalence of OA (symptomatic and non-symptomatic) reaches up to 80 % of the Western European population over 75 years of age, and it is estimated that approximately 10 % of the world’s population of 60 years and older have physical and/or pain symptoms that can be attributed to OA [3, 29]. OA has major consequences for an individual’s functioning during daily activities: it is the tenth leading cause of disability in high-income countries, and it is expected to become the world’s fourth leading cause of disability by 2020 [10, 20, 25]. The socio-economic impact of OA is substantial with the total annual disease costs being estimated at $5700 per individual per year. OA is also responsible for losses in work, social activities and difficulties in performing self-care [4, 22, 26].