A20 Research of Relation between Motion of Lower Leg and Force Applied to Knee Joint

Abstract

This paper describes the relation between the motion of the human lower leg and force applied to the knee joint using the dynamic model of a human lower leg. The dynamic model was built using links, joints, and a muscle model. The muscle model consists of a contractile element, an elastic element, and a viscous element. The dynamic model was validated through the comparison of the simulated and experimental results. The force applied to the knee joint was investigated with changing the angle of the knee joint and the contraction length and time of the contractile element in the simulations. The simulated results demonstrated that the bending of the knee joint for shock relaxation not only decreased the vertical force applied to the knee joint but also increased the horizontal force. This fact suggests that the bending of the knee may cause the cruciate ligament injury. The simulated results of actively controlling the contractile element indicated that both forces could be reduced by choosing the appropriate combination of contraction length and time.