A walking exoskeleton may reduce certain measures of knee effort or knee loading in some users and under some conditions, but the effect is not automatic. Research has shown that selected exoskeleton designs can reduce knee biological joint power, knee adduction moment or medial knee contact force. Other studies have found little average change, increased loading during part of the gait cycle, or changes caused by the added mass of the device.

The most accurate answer is therefore: a walking exoskeleton can influence how work and load are distributed across the hips, knees and ankles, but whether it reduces knee strain depends on the specific device, the joint being assisted, torque timing, device weight, fit, walking speed, terrain and the individual user.

For the Eulon 1.0 Pro, Move It Well presents the product as a powered hip-assist consumer movement-support exoskeleton for adults who can stand and walk independently. A search of publicly accessible research did not identify a peer-reviewed study that directly measured knee joint loading with the Eulon 1.0 Pro. It should therefore not be marketed as a treatment for knee pain or as a device proven to unload the knee.

Knee Strain and Walking Exoskeletons: Key Facts at a Glance

Question	Evidence-based answer
Can an exoskeleton reduce knee effort?	Yes, some designs have reduced knee biological joint power or muscle activity in controlled studies.
Can it reduce knee joint loading?	Some knee-specific devices reduced selected knee moments and medial compartment contact force, but results are device-specific.
Does hip assistance automatically unload the knee?	No. Hip assistance can indirectly change knee power or moments, but the effect depends strongly on timing and gait adaptation.
Can an exoskeleton increase knee load?	Yes. Added mass, altered gait or poorly timed assistance can increase loading during part of the gait cycle.
Does lower knee load guarantee less pain?	No. Biomechanical measures and pain are related but are not interchangeable.
Is the Eulon 1.0 Pro proven to reduce knee load?	No publicly accessible peer-reviewed knee-load study for this model was identified.
Who should seek medical advice?	Anyone with persistent or worsening pain, swelling, locking, instability, recent injury or difficulty walking safely.

What Does “Knee Strain” Mean?

“Knee strain” is a broad everyday phrase rather than a precise diagnosis. A person may use it to describe tired muscles around the knee, discomfort after prolonged walking, pain on stairs, stiffness, swelling or a feeling that the joint is working harder than usual.

These experiences can have different causes. HealthHub Singapore lists common contributors to knee pain such as activity overload, previous knee injury, being overweight and weakness in the hip or knee muscles. Pain with squatting or climbing stairs, short periods of stiffness, swelling and reduced knee movement may also occur.

Because the phrase covers several different problems, an article about exoskeletons should not treat knee strain, knee joint loading, osteoarthritis and knee pain as if they are the same thing.

Four different measures are often confused

• Muscle effort: how hard the quadriceps, hamstrings, calf and hip muscles work.
• Joint moment or joint power: biomechanical measures of the rotational demand and work performed at the knee.
• Joint contact force: an estimate of the compressive force transmitted through the knee joint.
• Pain or symptoms: the person’s experienced discomfort, stiffness, swelling or loss of function.

A device may reduce one measure without improving another. For example, reducing muscle activity does not automatically prove that knee contact force or knee pain has decreased.

Why Walking, Stairs and Slopes Place Demand on the Knees

During walking, the knee helps absorb impact, support body weight and control the movement of the leg. The muscles crossing the hip, knee and ankle coordinate continuously so that the body can move forward while remaining stable.

Knee demand usually increases when the task requires greater force or control. Common examples include climbing stairs, walking uphill, carrying loads, rising from a low chair, squatting and walking for longer than a person is accustomed to.

The knee is not loaded by body weight alone. Walking speed, step length, body position, muscle co-contraction, ground-reaction forces and the distribution of work across the lower limb all influence knee mechanics.

How a Walking Exoskeleton Could Change Knee Demand

1. Direct knee assistance

A knee-assist exoskeleton or exosuit can apply torque directly around the knee. Depending on the design, it may assist knee extension, support shock absorption or provide a frontal-plane moment intended to reduce medial compartment loading.

2. Indirect assistance from the hip or ankle

A device that assists the hip or ankle can also change knee mechanics because the joints do not work independently. If hip assistance reduces part of the biological work required during stance, the wearer may also reduce knee biological power. However, the opposite can occur if the assistance changes posture, step timing or muscle coordination in an unfavourable way.

3. Reduced muscle demand

Exoskeleton assistance can reduce activity in selected lower-limb muscles. Lower muscle demand may make walking feel less tiring, but reduced muscle activity should not be described as proof of reduced knee joint loading unless the study also measured knee kinetics or contact force.

4. Load redistribution across the gait cycle

An exoskeleton may reduce a peak at one point in the step while increasing a different peak later in the gait cycle. This is why a single percentage or an average value can be misleading. Researchers must examine when the change occurs and whether the overall effect is clinically or functionally meaningful.

5. Added device mass

Wearable devices add mass to the body. A 2025 simulation study found that adding mass to the lower limbs increased estimated knee contact force, with mass added near the foot producing the largest increase. This does not mean that exoskeletons are harmful; it means that any assistance benefit must be considered together with the location and amount of added mass.

What Research Says About Exoskeletons and Knee Loading

Study	Device and participants	Knee-related finding	Important limitation
Ding et al., 2016	Hip-extension soft exosuit; 8 healthy adults walking on a treadmill with a 23 kg load	Three of four assistance profiles significantly reduced biological knee joint power; all profiles reduced metabolic cost.	Loaded treadmill study in healthy adults; not a knee-pain study and not an Eulon study.
Chen et al., 2023	Unpowered knee exoskeleton; healthy participant data	First knee-moment peak fell by about 8.6%, but the second peak rose by about 25.2%; average knee moment change was not significant.	Illustrates that effects can differ across the gait cycle and may cancel out on average.
Han et al., 2025	Soft knee exosuit designed to reduce frontal-plane medial knee loading	First and second net knee-adduction-moment peaks fell by 28.7% and 39.6%; estimated medial contact-force peaks fell by 19.9% and 21.3%.	Device was specifically designed for this target; results cannot be transferred to a different hip-assist product.
McGibbon et al., 2017	Over-ground robotic dermoskeleton; 13 healthy adults	Late-stance knee adduction moment decreased, but added mass increased ground-reaction forces and early-stance knee moment.	Mixed biomechanical effects; healthy adults rather than people with established knee disease.
De Carvalho et al., 2025	ReWalk-assisted walking; computational framework based on one able-bodied participant	Estimated knee compressive forces varied widely depending on how human-robot interaction was modelled.	Shows that joint-force estimates are sensitive to modelling assumptions.
Knee-load mass study, 2025	Healthy adults with added thigh, shank or foot mass plus musculoskeletal simulation	Added lower-limb mass increased estimated peak knee contact force, especially when mass was added at the foot.	Not an exoskeleton-assistance study, but relevant to wearable-device design.

Taken together, the research supports a cautious conclusion: exoskeletons can reduce selected knee-related biomechanical demands, but the result is highly dependent on design and control. A study of a knee-specific unloading device cannot be used as evidence that every hip, ankle or whole-leg exoskeleton will reduce knee load.

Why Hip Assistance Does Not Automatically Mean Knee Unloading

The Eulon 1.0 Pro assists movement at the hips rather than applying a direct unloading moment at the knee. Hip assistance may still influence knee mechanics because hip, knee and ankle work is coordinated. The 2016 soft-exosuit study is an example: certain hip-extension timing profiles reduced knee biological power during loaded walking.

However, this indirect effect depends on control timing, walking task and user adaptation. A different hip-assist controller, device weight or fitting method could produce a different knee response. Without direct testing of knee moments or contact force in the Eulon 1.0 Pro, it is not scientifically accurate to state that the product reduces knee load.

Can Lower Knee Loading Reduce Knee Pain?

Lower biomechanical loading may be relevant to some knee conditions, but it does not guarantee pain relief. Pain is influenced by tissue condition, inflammation, muscle strength, sleep, mood, previous injury, activity level and many other factors.

HealthHub advises that knee pain is a symptom rather than a diagnosis. Appropriate exercise can help many people, but persistent or worsening symptoms require assessment. A walking exoskeleton should not be used to delay diagnosis or replace recommended medical care, physiotherapy, strength training or weight-management advice.

When a Walking Exoskeleton May Be Worth Exploring

A consumer movement-support exoskeleton may be worth exploring when the person can stand and walk independently, has adequate balance and wants additional assistance during longer or more demanding activities.

• Walking fatigue develops during long outings, but the person remains independently mobile.
• Stairs or slopes require more muscular effort, without severe or unstable knee symptoms.
• The person wants to compare whether assistance changes perceived effort during a supervised trial.
• The user can understand fitting, charging and safe-use instructions.
• The device can be tested at a low assistance level before progressing.

The aim of the trial is not to prove that a device treats the knee. It is to assess whether the specific user can walk comfortably, naturally and safely with the product.

When Knee Symptoms Should Be Assessed First

A product trial should not be the first step when a person has significant or unexplained knee symptoms.

• A hot or swollen knee, with or without fever.
• Rapidly worsening pain.
• A recent fall, impact or injury that limits movement.
• Morning stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes.
• Locking, giving way or repeated instability.
• Severe pain, inability to bend the knee or inability to walk normally.
• Pain that persists or worsens despite rest and activity modification.

These signs are consistent with HealthHub guidance on when to consult a doctor. Anyone with a diagnosed knee condition should also ask an appropriate healthcare professional whether a wearable device is suitable.

How to Evaluate Knee Comfort During a Supervised Trial

What to check	What to observe	Warning sign
Baseline	Record pain, fatigue, walking speed and confidence before wearing the device.	Starting with severe pain or unstable walking.
Fit and alignment	Check waist, hip and leg alignment; straps should be secure without pressure points.	Numbness, pinching, knee pulling or restricted motion.
Low assistance	Begin with the lowest useful setting and normal walking pace.	The device forces the step or changes balance unexpectedly.
Several gait phases	Practise starting, stopping, turning and steady walking.	Knee discomfort appears at a specific part of the step.
Stairs or slopes	Test only if approved and supervised.	Pain, buckling or loss of control.
After the trial	Recheck symptoms immediately and later the same day.	Pain or swelling that increases after the session.

A buyer should not evaluate the device only by asking whether it feels powerful. The more relevant questions are whether the timing feels natural, whether gait remains stable, whether the device adds uncomfortable resistance and whether symptoms remain acceptable during and after use.

How This Article Connects to the 2026 Buyer’s Guide

Knee comfort is only one part of choosing a walking exoskeleton. Buyers should also compare intended purpose, assisted joints, device weight, battery support, fitting, warranty, replacement parts, local servicing and the opportunity to complete a supervised trial.

For the full purchase checklist, see the Walking Exoskeleton Buyer’s Guide Singapore 2026 at /walking-exoskeleton-buyers-guide-singapore.

Walking Exoskeleton and Knee Strain FAQs

1. Can a walking exoskeleton reduce knee strain?

It may reduce selected measures of knee effort or loading in some users and devices, but the effect is not guaranteed. Results depend on the assisted joint, torque timing, device weight, fit, task and individual response.

2. Can a hip exoskeleton reduce knee load?

Possibly. Hip assistance can indirectly change knee joint power or moments because the lower-limb joints work together. However, hip assistance does not automatically unload the knee, and the effect must be measured for the specific device.

3. Are knee exoskeletons different from hip exoskeletons?

Yes. A knee exoskeleton applies assistance directly around the knee. A hip exoskeleton assists hip movement and may influence the knee only indirectly through changes in gait and load distribution.

4. Does lower knee joint power mean lower knee contact force?

Not necessarily. Joint power, joint moment, muscle activity and contact force are different biomechanical measures. A study must measure or estimate the specific outcome before making a claim.

5. Can a walking exoskeleton cure knee pain?

No. A consumer walking exoskeleton should not be presented as a cure or treatment for knee pain. Persistent or worsening knee symptoms require professional assessment.

6. Is the Eulon 1.0 Pro proven to reduce knee loading?

A publicly accessible peer-reviewed study directly measuring knee loading with the Eulon 1.0 Pro was not identified. Move It Well should not make a proven knee-unloading claim for this model.

7. Can the added weight of an exoskeleton affect the knee?

Yes. Added lower-limb mass can increase knee contact force, particularly when mass is located farther down the leg. Device weight and where that weight is carried are relevant design factors.

8. Should someone with knee osteoarthritis use a walking exoskeleton?

Suitability depends on the person, symptoms, balance, walking ability and product purpose. Someone with diagnosed osteoarthritis should seek clinical advice before using a new wearable walking device.

9. What should I monitor during a trial?

Monitor pain, fatigue, gait stability, pressure points, knee pulling, assistance timing and symptoms after the trial. Stop if pain, swelling, buckling, dizziness or unsafe movement occurs.

10. Is a walking exoskeleton a medical device in Singapore?

Some exoskeletons are medical devices and some are not. HSA classification depends on intended purpose and claims. Products used only to support general well-being without specific medical claims may fall outside the medical-device definition.

11. Can an exoskeleton help on stairs?

Some devices provide assistance during stair climbing, but this depends on the product’s approved functions and control system. Stairs should be tested only under appropriate supervision.

12. What is the most reliable way to know whether a device helps my knees?

Complete a supervised fitting and trial with the specific product, and obtain professional advice if you have knee pain or a diagnosed condition. Research on another device cannot predict your individual result.

References and Evidence Sources

1. HealthHub Singapore. Knee Pain. https://www.healthhub.sg/health-conditions/knee-pain

2. HealthHub Singapore. Knee Osteoarthritis: Causes and Treatment Options. https://www.healthhub.sg/health-conditions/knee-osteoarthritis

3. Health Sciences Authority Singapore. Regulatory Overview: What Is a Medical Device? Last updated 5 June 2026. https://www.hsa.gov.sg/medical-devices/regulatory-overview/

4. Ding Y, Panizzolo FA, Siviy C, et al. Effect of timing of hip extension assistance during loaded walking with a soft exosuit. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. 2016;13:87. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-016-0196-8

5. Chen B, et al. An Unpowered Knee Exoskeleton for Walking Assistance and Energy Capture. 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10608919/

6. Han Y, Shi D, Shao Y, et al. Design and Evaluation of a Soft Knee Exosuit for Reducing Knee Medial Compartment Load During Walking. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. 2025;72(5):1740-1749. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2024.3520213

7. McGibbon CA, et al. Effects of an over-ground exoskeleton on external knee moments during stance phase of gait in healthy adults. The Knee. 2017;24(5):977-993. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28760608/

8. De Carvalho GB, et al. Hip, knee, and ankle joint forces during exoskeletal-assisted walking: Comparison of approaches to simulate human-robot interactions. PLOS ONE. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0322247

9. How peak knee loads are affected by changing the mass of lower-limb body segments during walking. 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12483208/

10. Move It Well. Eulon 1.0 Pro intended-user and product-specification information. First-party product information, August 2026.