Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article

Gender-specific anterior cruciate ligament – gait forces

Article Sidebar

Distribution of ACL forces
Download PDF
Submitted   Mar 13, 2022
Published   May 18, 2022
Issue    Vol 4 No 1 (2022)
DOI   10.25082/AGPM.2022.01.002

Views

1469

Downloads

701

Citations

PlumX Metrics

Main Article Content

Bharadwaj Cheruvu
Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA
Amy Neidhard-Doll
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45434, USA
Tarun Goswami corresponding author
[1] Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA; [2] Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH 45409, USA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender-based differences in gait biomechanics and to evaluate those effects on forces generated on the ACL during walking. Estimation of gender-specific ACL forces in the frontal plane can provide a better understanding of the biomechanical patterns underlying higher female injury risk. The present study used a sample from the Fels Longitudinal Study to test the hypothesis that there are significant gender-differences in frontal plane ACL loading during walking. A cross-sectional sample of 178 participants, including 79 males and 99 females was used to evaluate differences in gait kinetics. Females walked at higher cadence with narrower steps (P < 0.05). No difference was observed in the peak flexion force and knee rotation moment between males and females (P = 0.51 and 0.07), respectively. Peak abduction moment was significantly lower among females than in males (P = 0.05). A regression equation was developed which considers a person’s weight and height in addition to forces which could give better estimate of the forces acting on the ligament. The peak force acting on the ACL during walking reaches as high as 0.44 of BW, regardless of gender.

Keywords
gait, anterior cruciate ligament, kinetics, gender differences

Article Details

Supporting Agencies
Authors are grateful to Division of Morphological Sciences and Biostatistics, Lifespan Health Research Center, Department of Community Health, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, 3171 Research Blvd., Dayton, OH 45420-4014, USA for providing the gait data.
How to Cite
Cheruvu, B., Neidhard-Doll, A., & Goswami, T. (2022). Gender-specific anterior cruciate ligament – gait forces. Advances in General Practice of Medicine, 4(1), 42-47. https://doi.org/10.25082/AGPM.2022.01.002
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

References

  1. Alentorn-Geli E, Myer GD, Silvers HJ, et al. Prevention of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer players. Part 1: Mechanisms of injury and underlying risk factors. Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy, 2009, 17(7): 705-729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-009-0813-1
  2. Agel J, Arendt EA and Bershadsky B. Anterior cruciate ligament injury in National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball and soccer a 13-year review. The American journal of sports medicine, 2005, 33(4): 524-531. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546504269937
  3. Knowles SB. Is there an injury epidemic in girls’ sports?. British journal of sports medicine, 2010, 44(1): 38-44. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2009.065763
  4. Boden BP, Dean GS, Feagin Jr JA, et al. Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Orthopedics, 2000, 23(6): 573-578. https://doi.org/10.3928/0147-7447-20000601-15
  5. Cho SH, Park JM and Kwon OY. Gender differences in three dimensional gait analysis data from 98 healthy Korean adults. Clinical biomechanics, 2004, 19(2): 145-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2003.10.003
  6. Kerrigan DC, Todd MK, Della Croce U, et al. Biomechanical gait alterations independent of speed in the healthy elderly: evidence for specific limiting impairments. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 1998, 79(3): 317-322. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-9993(98)90013-2
  7. Zhang K, Werner P, Sun M, et al. Measurement of human daily physical activity. Obesity research, 2003, 11(1): 33-40. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2003.7
  8. Morrison JB. The Mechanics of the Knee Joint in Relation to Normal Walking. Journal of Biomechanics, 1970, 3(1): 51-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9290(70)90050-3
  9. Shelburne KB, Pandy MG, Anderson FC, et al. Pattern of anterior cruciate ligament force in normal walking. Journal of Biomechanics, 2004, 37(6): 797-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2003.10.010
  10. Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR, et al. Biomechanical measures of neuromuscular control and valgus loading of the knee predict anterior cruciate ligament injury risk in female athletes a prospective study. The American journal of sports medicine, 2005, 33(4): 492-501. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546504269591
  11. Kanamori A, Woo SL, Ma CB, et al. The forces in the anterior cruciate ligament and knee kinematics during a simulated pivot shift test: a human cadaveric study using robotic technology. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery, 2000, 16(6): 633-639. https://doi.org/10.1053/jars.2000.7682
  12. Sherwood RJ and Duren DL. Growth of a species, an association, a science: 80 years of growth and development research. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013, 150: 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22178
  13. Lohman TG, Roche AF and Martorell R, Eds. (1988). Anthropometric Standardization Reference Manual. Champaign, IL; Human Kinetics Publishers.
  14. Hof AL. Letter to the editor: Scaling gait data to body size. Gait Posture, 1996, 4: 222-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/0966-6362(95)01057-2
  15. Winkelstein BA. (Ed.). (2012). Orthopaedic biomechanics. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b13733
  16. Kadaba MP, Ramakrishnan HK and Wootten ME. Measurement of lower extremity kinematics during level walking. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 1990, 8: 383-92. https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.1100080310
  17. Anderson FC and Pandy MG. Individual muscle contributions to support in normal walking. Gait & posture, 2003, 17(2): 159-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0966-6362(02)00073-5
  18. McKean KA, Landry SC, Hubley-Kozey CL, et al. Gender differences exist in osteoarthritic gait. Clinical Biomechanics, 2007, 22(4): 400-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2006.11.006
  19. Collins JJ. The redundant nature of locomotor optimization laws. Journal of Biomechanics, 1995, 28: 251-267. https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9290(94)00072-C