Biomechanics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Biomechanics, including details on mechanics of living organisms, movement, locomotion, prosthetic limbs.

Tibio-femoral joint contact forces in sheep.

Taylor WR, Ehrig RM, Heller MO, Schell H, Seebeck P, Duda GN

Musculoskeletal Research Center Berlin, Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany.

Although the sheep has become a standard model for understanding the mechanical conditions that occur after injury and investigating surgical treatments such as osteochondral defect healing and ligament reconstruction, no study has yet evaluated the contact forces that occur in the sheep tibio-femoral joint in vivo. In this study, bone pins, together with reflective markers, were used to measure the 3D kinematics of three sheep hind limbs, simultaneously with the ground reaction forces during repetitions of gait trials. Joint contact forces were then calculated using inverse dynamics and optimisation techniques. Whilst average peak axial tibio-femoral contact forces of 2.1 body weight (BW) were calculated across the 3 sheep, only small medio-lateral and antero-posterior shear forces, averaging 0.7 BW, were determined. Average knee flexion angles ranging from 49 degrees to 70 degrees were observed. From the forces determined in this study, we have provided a better understanding of the mechanical loading environment that occurs in sheep. This has important implications for the interpretation of knee studies in quadrupeds and their relevance to the clinical situation.

Published 20 February 2006 in J Biomech, 39(5): 791-8.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Biomechanics Research Today. All Rights Reserved.