Alterations in knee contact forces and centers in stance phase of gait: A detailed lower extremity musculoskeletal model

Abstract Evaluation of contact forces-centers of the tibiofemoral joint in gait has crucial biomechanical and pathological consequences. It involves however difficulties and limitations in in vitro cadaver and in vivo imaging studies. The goal is to estimate total contact forces (CF) and location of contact centers (CC) on the medial and lateral plateaus using results computed by a validated finite element model simulating the stance phase of gait for normal as well as osteoarthritis, varus-valgus and posterior tibial slope altered subjects. Using foregoing contact results, six methods commonly used in the literature are also applied to estimate and compare locations of CC at 6 periods of stance phase (0%, 5%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). TF joint contact forces are greater on the lateral plateau very early in stance and on the medial plateau thereafter during 25–100% stance periods. Large excursions in the location of CC (>17 mm), especially on the medial plateau in the mediolateral direction, are computed. Various reported models estimate quite different CCs with much greater variations (~15 mm) in the mediolateral direction on both plateaus. Compared to our accurately computed CCs taken as the gold standard, the centroid of contact area algorithm yielded least differences (except in the mediolateral direction on the medial plateau at ~5 mm) whereas the contact point and weighted center of proximity algorithms resulted overall in greatest differences. Large movements in the location of CC should be considered when attempting to estimate TF compartmental contact forces in gait.