Application of Computational Lower Extremity Model to Investigate Different Muscle Activities and Joint Force Patterns in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients during Walking

Abstract

Many experimental and computational studies have reported that osteoarthritis in the knee joint affects knee biomechanics, including joint kinematics, joint contact forces, and muscle activities, due to functional restriction and disability. In this study, differences in muscle activities and joint force patterns between knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients and normal subjects during walking were investigated using the inverse dynamic analysis with a lower extremity musculoskeletal model. Extensor/flexor muscle activations and torque ratios and the joint contact forces were compared between the OA and normal groups. The OA patients had higher extensor muscle forces and lateral component of the knee joint force than normal subjects as well as force and torque ratios of extensor and flexor muscles, while the other parameters had little differences. The results explained that OA patients increased the level of antagonistic cocontraction and the adduction moment on the knee joint. The presented findings and technologies provide insight into biomechanical changes in OA patients and can also be used to evaluate the postoperative functional outcomes of the OA treatments.

Evaluation of Ground Reaction Forces in Patients With Various Severities of Knee Osteoarthritis

“…[17][18][19][20] Esrafilian et al 8 showed that medio-lateral (ML) and vertical forces on the limb was higher in OA individuals compared to normal group, although the differences were not significant. Recently Nha et al 21 also reported increased ML but not antero-posterior component of GRF in OA subjects. They related this finding to higher sensitivity of variation in joint function in the frontal plane and the higher KAM in KOA patients.…”

Consistent accuracy in whole-body joint kinetics during gait using wearable inertial motion sensors and in-shoe pressure sensors

“…A dynamic model of the human whole body, consisting of 16 segments (head, thorax, lumbar, pelvis, upper arms, forearms, hands, thighs, shanks, and feet) and 45 degrees of freedom linkages for 15 joints (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles), was used as in our previous study [8]. Joint centers were defined based on the previous studies [9,10].…”

“…The joint angles were calculated as the Euler angles of the distal segment reference frame relative to the proximal segment reference frame. The magnitudes of the joint forces and moments were then calculated based on a standard inverse dynamics analysis using the motion data and GRF with MATLAB 1 (MathWorks TM , Natick, MA, USA) [8,11]. Joint kinematic values, such as the angular velocity and acceleration of the ith segment, were calculated from motion capture data by the finite difference technique.…”

“…Joint kinematic values, such as the angular velocity and acceleration of the ith segment, were calculated from motion capture data by the finite difference technique. The joint force and moment acting on the ith body segment were then calculated starting from the distal segment with the GRF and moment [8,11] using the following equilibrium equations:…”

Improvements in spinal alignment after high tibial osteotomy in patients with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis

“…A three-dimensional (3D) motion analysis system (Motion Analysis Corp., Santa Rosa, CA, USA) with 10 cameras operating at a sampling rate of 100 Hz was used to record motion data of 36 retro-reflective markers attached to the spine and lower extremity based on the literature [17,18]. In addition, four 1000 Hz force plates (Bertec Corp., Columbus, OH, USA) were used to measure ground reaction forces and identify gait cycle events.…”