Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T12:52:07.716Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Forces Transmitted in the Knee Joint During Stair Ascent and Descent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2011

T.-W. Lu  and
C.-H. Lu
T.-W. Lu*
Affiliation:
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106, R.O.C.
C.-H. Lu*
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106, R.O.C.
*
* Associate Professor, corresponding author
** Undergraduate Student
Get access

Abstract

The normal function of the knee relies upon a complicated and delicate mechanical interaction between the force-bearing structures, including muscles, ligaments and articular surfaces. Injury or damage to any of these structures will lead to the degradation or loss of joint function. Stair locomotion is one of the most common forms of motion in daily living. The purposes of the study were to analyze forces transmitted by the force-bearing structures of the knee during normal stair ascent and descent and to evaluate their mechanical differences. Compared to stair descent, higher peak patellar tendon forces, peak flexor forces, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) forces and contact forces were required during stair ascent. In contrast, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) trended to bear higher forces during stair descent. It is suggested that one should be cautious in the use of stair ascent and descent as a rehabilitation exercise for patients with injuries or diseases of the cruciate ligaments and articular surfaces. The results of the study will be helpful for the understanding of the normal mechanics of the knee during stair locomotion, contributing to the design and evaluation of rehabilitation programs for patients with knee problems such as ACL injury and osteoarthritis.

Keywords

Knee MechanicsMuscle ForceLigament ForceStair ActivitiesLocomotion
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Mechanics , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2006 , pp. 289 - 297
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, R.O.C. 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Wilson, D. R., Feikes, J. D. and O'Connor, J. J., “Ligaments and Articular Contact Guide Passive Knee Flexion,” J. Biomechanics, 31, pp. 1127–1136 (1998).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Teh, K. C. and Aziz, A. R., “Heart Rate, Oxygen Uptake, and Energy Cost of Ascending and Descending the Stairs,” Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 34, pp. 695–699 (2002).Google Scholar
3.Boreham, C. A., Wallace, W. F. and Nevill, A., “Training Effects of Accumulated Daily Stair-Climbing Exercise in Previously Sedentary Young Women,” Prev. Med., 30, pp. 277–281 (2000).Google Scholar
4.Fardy, P. S. and Ilmarinen, J., “Evaluating the Effects and Feasibility of an at Work Stairclimbing Intervention Program for Men,” Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 7, pp. 91–93 (1975).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Loy, S. F., Conley, L. M., Sacco, E. R., Vincent, W. J., Holland, G. J., Sletten, E. G. and Trueblood, P. R., “Effects of Stairclimbing on VO2max and Quadriceps Strength in Middle-Aged Females,” Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 26, pp. 241–247 (1994).Google Scholar
6.Taylor, S. J. G., Perry, J. S., Meswania, J. M., Donaldson, N., Walker, P. S. and Cannon, S. R., “Telemetry of Forces from Proximal Femoral Replacements and Relevance to Fixation,” J. Biomechanics, 30, pp. 225–234 (1997).Google Scholar
7.Collins, J. J. and O'Connor, J. J., “Muscle-Ligament Interactions at the Knee During Walking,” Proceedings of Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part H, Journal of Engineering of Medicine, 205, pp. 11–18 (1991).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Collins, J. J., “The Redundant Nature of Locomotor Optimization Laws,” J. Biomechanics, 28, pp. 251–267 (1995).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Crowninshield, R. D., “Use of Optimization Techniques to Predict Muscle Forces,” Transactions of ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 100, pp. 88–92 (1978).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Hardt, D. E., “Determining Muscle Forces in the Leg during Normal Human Walking – An Application and Evaluation of Optimization Methods,” Transactions of ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 100, pp. 72–78 (1978).Google Scholar
11.Morrison, J. B., “The Mechanics of the Knee Joint in Relation to Normal Walking,” J. Biomechanics, 3, pp. 51–61 (1970).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Paul, J. P., Biomechanics and Related Bio-Engineering Topics, Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 369–380 (1965).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Pedotti, A., Krishnan, V. V. and Stark, L., “Optimization of Muscle Force Sequencing in Human Locomotion,” Math. Biosci., 38, pp. 57–76 (1978).Google Scholar
14.Rohrle, H., Scholten, R., Sigolotto, C. and Sollbach, W., “Joint Forces in the Human Pelvis-Leg Skeleton during Walking,” J. Biomechanics, 17, pp. 409–424 (1984).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Seireg, A. and Arvikar, R. J., “The Prediction of Muscular Load Sharing and Joint Forces in the Lower Extremeties during Walking,” J. Biomechanics, 8, pp. 89–102(1975).Google Scholar
16.Brand, R. A., Crowninshield, R. D., Wittstock, C. E., Pedersen, D. R., Clark, C. R. and van Krieken, F. M., “A Model of Lower Extremity Muscular Anatomy,” Transactions of ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 104, pp. 304–310(1982).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Lu, T. W. and O'Connor, J. J., “Bone Position Estimation from Skin Marker Co-Ordinates Using Global Optimisation with Joint Constraints,” J. Biomechanics, 32, pp. 129–134(1999).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Lu, T. W., O'Connor, J. J., Taylor, S. J. G. and Walker, P. S., “Validation of a Lower Limb Model with in vivo 296 Journal of Mechanics, Vol.22, No. 4, December 2006 Femoral Forces Telemetered from Two Subjects,” J. Biomechanics, 31, pp. 63–69 (1998).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Livingston, L. A., Stevenson, J. M. and Olney, S. J., “Stairclimbing Kinematics on Stairs of Differing Dimensions,” Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil., 72, pp. 398–402 (1991).Google ScholarPubMed
20.McFadyen, B. J. and Winter, D. A., “An Integrated Biomechanical Analysis of Normal Stair Ascent and Descent,” J. Biomechanics, 21, pp. 733–744 (1988).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Lin, H. C., Lu, T. W. and Hsu, H. C., “Comparisons of Joint Kinetics in the Lower Extremity between Stair Ascent and Descent,” Journal of Mechanics, 21, pp. 41–50 (2005).Google Scholar
22.Taylor, S. J. G. and , S. W. P., “Forces and Moments Telemetered from Two Distal Femoral Replacements during Various Activities,” J. Biomechanics, 34, pp. 839–848 (2001).Google Scholar
23.Taylor, W. R., Heller, M. O., Bergmann, G. and Duda, G. N., “Tibio-Femoral Loading during Human Gait and Stair Climbing,” J. Orthop. Res., 22, pp. 625–632 (2004).Google ScholarPubMed
24.Costigan, P. A., Deluzio, K. J. and Wyss, U. P., “Knee and Hip Kinetics during Normal Stair Climbing,” Gait & Posture, 16, pp. 31–37 (2002).Google Scholar
25.O'Connor, J. J., Shercliff, T. L., Biden, E. and Goodfellow, J. W., “The Geometry of the Knee in the Sagittal Plane,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. [H], 203, pp. 223–233 (1989).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26.O'Connor, J. J., “Can Muscle Co-Contraction Protect Knee Ligaments after Injury or Repair,” Bone Joint Surg. Br., 75, pp. 41–48 (1993).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.Zavatsky, A. B. and O'Connor, J. J., “A Model of Human Knee Ligaments in the Sagittal Plane, Part 1: Response to Passive Flexion,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. [H], 206, pp. 125–134(1992).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28.Zavatsky, A. B. and O'Connor, J. J., “A Model of Human Knee Ligaments in the Sagittal Plane, Part 2, Fibre Recruitment under Load,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. [H], 206, pp. 135–145(1992).Google Scholar
29.O'Connor, J. J., Shercliff, T. L., FitzPatrick, D., Bradley, J., Biden, E., Daniel, D. and Goodfellow, J. W., Geometry of the Knee, Raven Press, New York, pp. 163–200 (1990).Google Scholar
30.Isman, R. E. and Inman, V. T., “Anthropometric Studies of The Human Foot and Ankle,” Bulletin of Prosthetic Research, 10, pp. 97–129 (1969).Google Scholar
31.van den Bogert, A. J., Smith, G. D. and Nigg, B. M., “In Vivo Determination of the Anatomical Axes of the Ankle Joint Complex: An Optimization Approach,” J. Biomechanics, 27, pp. 1477–1488 (1994).Google Scholar
32.Onyshko, S. and Winter, D. A., “A Mathematical Model for the Dynamics of the Human Locomotion,” J. Biomechanics, 13, pp. 361–368 (1980).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33.Pandy, M. G., Zajac, F. E., Sim, E. and Levine, W. S., “An Optimal Control Model for Maximum-Height Human Jumping,” J. Biomechanics, 23, pp. 1185–1198 (1990).Google Scholar
34.White, S. C., Yack, H. J. and Winter, D. A., “A Three-Dimensional Musculoskeletal Model for Gait Analysis, Anatomical Variability Estimates,” J. Biomechanics, 22, pp. 885–893 (1989).Google Scholar
35.Winter, D. A., Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement, 2nd Ed., Wiley, New York, pp. 51–66 (1990).Google Scholar
36.Zachazewski, J. E., Riley, P. O. and Krebs, D. E., “Biomechanical Analysis of Body Mass Transfer during Stair Ascent and Descent of Healthy Subjects,” J. Rehabil Res Dev., 30, pp. 412–422 (1993).Google Scholar
37.Trew, M. and Everett, T., Human Movement, 4th Ed., Churchill Livingstone, pp. 143–159 (2001).Google Scholar
38.Ferris-Hood, K., Threlkeld, A. J., Horn, T. S. and Shapiro, R., “Relaxation Electromechanical Delay of the Quadriceps during Selected Movement Velocities,” Electromyogr. Clin. Neurophysiol., 36, pp. 157–170 (1996).Google Scholar
39.Lu, T. W. and O'Connor, J. J., “Lines of Action and Moment Arms of the Major Force-Bearing Structures Crossing the Human Knee Joint: Comparison between Theory and Experiment,” Journal of Anatomy, 189, pp. 575–585 (1996).Google ScholarPubMed
40.Shelburne, K. B., Pandy, M. G., Anderson, F. C. and Torry, M. R., “Pattern of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Force in Normal Walking,” J. Biomechanics, 37, pp. 797–805 (2004).Google Scholar
41.Noyes, F. R. and Grood, E. S., “The Strength of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in Humans and Rhesus Monkeys.,” J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., 58, pp. 1074–1082 (1976).Google Scholar
42.Rauch, G., Allzeit, B. and Gotzen, L., “Biomechanical Studies of the Tensile Strength of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament with Special Reference to Age-Dependence,” Unfallchirurg., 91, pp. 437–443 (1988).Google ScholarPubMed
43.Race, A. and Amis, A. A., “The Mechanical Properties of the Two Bundles of the Human Posterior Cruciate Ligament,” J. Biomechanics, 27, pp. 13–24 (1994).Google Scholar