Musculoskeletal Gait Simulation to Investigate Biomechanical Effect of Knee Brace

Abstract

Musculoskeletal modelling and simulation has been an emerging trend in human gait analysis. It allows the user to isolate certain biomechanical condition and elucidate the dynamics of joints and muscles. This study used an open source musculoskeletal modelling and simulation tool, OpenSim to investigate the biomechanical effect of knee brace. It collected gait data from thirty-eight participants and examined the gait spatio-temporal parameters, joint angles and joint moments. Static optimization was performed to estimate the lower extremity muscle force. Statistical analysis was conducted to identify the difference between normal and abnormal gaits. The results demonstrated the feasibility of this method to investigate the interaction and coordination of lower extremity joints and muscles. The knee brace constrained the range of the motion of the knee during walking. It also changed the walking speed, step length and stance-to-swing ratio. Several significant differences were found in the joint moments and muscle forces of the rectus femoris, gastrocnemius, soleus and tibialis anterior. Musculoskeletal modelling and simulation tool offers a less invasive and practical alternative to analyze human motion. It also offers a means to investigate the effect of medical devices such as knee brace, which can be potentially beneficial for the future design and development of such devices and for derivation of rehabilitation treatment to improve patient's gait.