Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article

Gender-specific anterior cruciate ligament – gait forces

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

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

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