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Several changes occur in both the cartilage's material properties and anatomical structure as osteoarthritis progresses. Unlike most numerical studies that solely consider individual changes, our study aimed to understand the impact on cartilage mechanics by considering the combined effect of material properties and cartilage thickness varied with osteoarthritis progression. In total, 3 three-dimensional finite element models, representing the intact, early, and late osteoarthritis conditions, were developed to simulate a load-bearing area in the knee. The articular cartilage was modelled as fluid-saturated linear biphasic poroelastic to incorporate solid-fluid interaction. All models underwent prolonged creep (50 N) and relaxation (0.3 mm) analyses for 600 s. In the early stage of osteoarthritis, the tibial cartilage demonstrated an overall stiffer behaviour attributed to cartilage swelling despite decreased stiffness at the …