Characteristics of hip joint reaction forces during a range of activities. (October 2022) - Layton, Robin
Highlights: Joint reaction force on its own is not sufficient for assessment of contact mechanics. Timing of load varies significantly with activity. Duration of load varies significantly with activity. Localised changes in velocity and acceleration occur within the contact area. A virtual hip joint model can provide detailed characteristics for contact analysis. Abstract: The paper reports the characteristics of joint forces for 9 activities in 18 normal healthy subjects. Activities included Walk, Walk Turn, Stand to Sit, Sit to Stand, Squat, Stand Reach, Kneel Reach, Lunge, and Golf Swing. Within the cohort ∼30% variability occurred in the manner in which each activity was completed. Within the activities the average maximum load characteristics varied in magnitude (0.5–6.4 ρBWT) and also in duration (0.96–5.89 s.) when compared to walking (3.1 ρBWT, 1.1 s.). The corresponding impulse ranged from 1.6 during the Walk to 6.7 ρ.BWT.s for the Golf Swing . As high loads with low sliding velocities have been shown in the literature to be damaging to the tribology of compliant contact surfaces the findings are postulated by the authors to be specifically important for the pre-clinical testing of cartilage substitutional materials. Note: Force was normalized to body weight (ρBWT) throughout the study.