Load Distribution at the Patellofemoral Joint During Walking
- PDF / 2,542,053 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 593.972 x 792 pts Page_size
- 69 Downloads / 218 Views
Annals of Biomedical Engineering ( 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02672-0
Original Article
Load Distribution at the Patellofemoral Joint During Walking LUCAS T. THOMEER , YI-CHUNG LIN , and MARCUS G. PANDY Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia (Received 27 April 2020; accepted 21 October 2020) Associate Editor Michael Torry oversaw the review of this article.
Abstract—We combined computational modelling with experimental gait data to describe and explain load distribution across the medial and lateral facets of the patella during normal walking. The body was modelled as a 13-segment, 32degree-of-freedom (DOF) skeleton actuated by 80 muscles. The knee was represented as a 3-body, 12-DOF mechanical system with deformable articular cartilage surfaces at the tibiofemoral (TF) and patellofemoral (PF) joints. Passive responses of the knee model to 100 N anterior-posterior drawer and 5 Nm axial torque tests were consistent with cadaver data reported in the literature. Trajectories of 6DOF TF and PF joint motion and articular joint contact calculated for walking were also consistent with measurements obtained from biplane X-ray imaging. The force acting on the lateral patellar facet was considerably higher than that on the medial facet throughout the gait cycle. The vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and patellar tendon forces contributed substantially to the first peak in the PF contact force during stance whereas all three portions of the vasti and rectus femoris were responsible for the second peak during swing. A higher lateral patellar contact force was caused mainly by the laterally-directed shear force applied by the quadriceps muscles, especially the vastus lateralis, intermedius and rectus femoris. A better understanding of the contributions of the individual knee muscles to load distribution in the PF compartment may lead to improved surgical and physiotherapy methods to treat PF disorders. Keywords—Knee contact force, Q-angle, Vastus lateralis, Vastus medialis, Patellar tendon.
INTRODUCTION Patellar malalignment and maltracking can increase the compressive stress between the patellar facets and trochlear ridge, resulting in anterior knee pain and Address correspondence to Lucas T. Thomeer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. Electronic mail: [email protected]. au
ultimately cartilage injury.10 Previous studies have investigated the interactions between the internal and external forces acting at the tibiofemoral (TF) joint, for example, the relationship between the knee adduction moment and medial compartmental contact force during gait.48 Less is known about the forces transmitted by the patellofemoral (PF) joint during daily activity, especially how the knee muscles act to distribute load across the medial and lateral facets of the patella. This is an important knowledge gap given the frequency of PF pain in the general population, particularly among those who are active,35 an
Data Loading...
