The Musculoskeletal System

 bone  Over the next

Biomechanics of Bone  tendons few weeks we
and Skeletal System  ligaments will look at the
biomechanical
 fascia properties of
Course Text: Hamill & Knutzen (Ch 2)  cartilage these tissues.
Nordin & Frankel (Ch 1) or Hall (Ch. 4)  muscle

Connective Tissues

Connective Tissue Composition

Skeletal System Functions
 CELLS {fixed (fibroblasts, chondroblasts,
osteoblasts; migratory(e.g. mast & plasma cells)  Movement Related Functions
 EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX  Levers
 Support
 fibres {collagen (collagenous & recticular),
elastic}  Non-Movement Related Functions
 ground substance (calcium, lipids,  Protection
glycoproteins, proteoglycans)  Storage of fat and minerals
 Blood cell formation
 TISSUE FLUID (filtrate of the blood)

Composition of Human Bone Bone Structure (density)

WATER 25-30%
MINERAL 60-70% (Resists compression)  Compact (Cortical) Bone
 porosity < 15%
Calcium phosphate 85%
Calcium carbonate 10%
 Spongy bone
Calcium fluoride 2-3%
 porosity > 70%
Magnesium fluoride 2-3%
PROTEIN (Collagen) 5-15% (Resists tension)
Bone is termed a two-phase material

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 Flexible, Strong Stiff, Strong
How strong are fiberglass
steel

my bones? iron

silk gold

spider web
copper
BONE
oak
glass
Probably not as strong as lead
you thought! Flexible, Weak Stiff, Weak

Tissue Tolerance Tissue strength (conditioning)

is also a factor in risk of injury
Acute trauma
Keep the big picture
in mind. If you have
little movement/
Risk of
exercise then the
Load Injury
tissues become more
Injury Threshold susceptible to injury
due to poor
conditioning.
Tolerance Chronic
too little too much
Repetitive
Movement (repetition), force (lifting)
Repetition physical activity, sitting or standing

Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) Acute vs. Chronic Injuries

If you had a force vs
“All parts of the body which have a time graph the area
function, if used in moderation and Acute under the curve would
exercises in labours to which each are be an impulse (Ft =>
the cumulative loading
accustomed, thereby become healthy and Force of that tissue)
well-developed: but if unused and left idle,
they become liable to disease, defective Chronic
in growth, and age quickly. This is
especially the case with joints and
ligaments, if one doe not use them.”
Time
LeVay 1990. p30.

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 Cumulative Loading Biomechanical Factors
 Kumar (1999) argues a theory of overexertion
 Assessing the effect of cumulative loading that states overexertion can be created by
is a difficult thing. exceeding the normal physical and physiological
in any one of: force (Fx), exposure time (Dy),
 If there is adequate recovery time then range of motion (Mz).
even high cumulative loads may be safe.  The weighting of these three functions is
 On the other hand a one time high peak obscure but Kumar symbolically represents
force over a very short period of time (low overexertion (OE) with the equation below.
cumulative load) may exceed the strength
of the tissue and cause injury.
OE = ! ( Fx, Dy, Mz )

Tissue Biomechanics Stress Strain

 Any deformation or residual deformation
alters the mechanical response of the tissue
reducing its stress bearing capacity. Force/Area Δlength
 The tissues that frequently get injured due
to occupational biomechanical hazards are original length
ligaments, tendons, muscle and nerves
(cartilage and bones less so).
 However, all biological tissues are
viscoelastic so we will quickly review the Same units as Ratio,
properties of viscoelastic structures during pressure no units.
this lecture on skeletal biomechanics.

Force vs. Stress Compression in Vertebrae

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 Calculation of Vertebral Strengths T9 37* 26.9 6,657* 25.2 68.9
Mass kg T10 40* 29.1 7,277* 25.5 75.3
% of Carried
Vert Body by Breaking Breaking % of T11 44* 32.0 7,580* 24.2 78.4
ebra Weight 72.7 kg Strength Stress in L4 Breaking T12 47* 34.2 7,835* 23.4 81.0
e Carried Man (N) Compression+ Strength
L1 50* 36.4 7,982* 22.4 82.6
T1 9 6.5 1,605 25.0 16.6
L2 53* 38.5 8,584* 22.7 88.8
T2 12 8.7 2,140 25.0 22.1
L3 56* 40.7 9,636* 24.1 99.6
T3 15 10.9 2,675 25.0 27.7
L4 58* 42.2 9,667* 23.4 100.0
T4 18 13.1 3,211 25.0 33.2
L5 60* 43.6 10,550* 24.6 109.1
T5 21* 15.2 3,746 25.0 38.7
T6 25* 18.1 4,459 25.0 46.1
*Single asterisk represents data collected
T7 29* 21.0 5,173 25.0 53.5 experimentally by Ruff (1950).
T8 33* 23.9 5,864* 24.9 60.7 Unmarked values are calculated or assumed.

Stress Strain Elastic Response

Failure
Force/Area Δlength Yield
Plastic
original length Stress Region
Elastic
Region

Same units as Ratio,

pressure no units.
Strain

Stress/Strain Curves
Metal (ductile)

Glass (brittle)

Bone

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 Flexible, Strong Stiff, Strong
Strength & Stiffness fiberglass
steel

 Strength iron
Defined by the failure point. Also can
be assessed by energy storage (area gold
silk
under curve).
spider web
 Stiffness (modulus of elasticity) copper
BONE
determined by the slope of the load oak
deformation curve glass
lead
Flexible, Weak Stiff, Weak

Young’s Modulus Direction of Force

Young’s Modulus is the ratio of: Compression Tension
tensile stress / tensile strain Shear
Young’s Tensile
Modulus Strength
Tendon 2 x 109 1 x 108
Bone 1.7 x 1010 1.8 x 108
Carbon Steel 2 x 1011 3 x 109
Soft rubber c.106

Bending

Tension

Compression

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 Torsion Torsion
Neutral Axis

Shear

Anisotropic Characteristics

Stress to Fracture
Compression

Tension

Shear

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 Bone Injury and Low Back Pain D
Compression apparatus in
 Bone injury (e.g. endplate fracture) is far from the which the specimens were
common cause of most back pain. subjected to pressure
 However, extensive research has been conducted (maximum 300 kp) recorded
into disc compression as it is thought to be largely by a measuring brined at the
C same times as Röutgen
responsible for vertebral end-plate fracture, disc
herniation, and resulting nerve root irritation. plates were made.
 Back compression has been argued to be a good A A = Specimen
predictor of low-back and other overexertion injuries B = Mechanically Driven Screw
[Herrin+, 1986]
C = Strain gauge
 Due to the clinical interest in this area data exists on D = Measuring Bridge
the compressive strength of the lumbar vertebral B
bodies and intevertebral disks

Axial compression of the spinal unit results in a loss

of height measured between the vertebrae. As the
disc material itself is essentially incompressible,
height decrease must result in a radial bulge of the
disc and a corresponding axial disc bulge (an inward
deformation of the vertebral end plates).

A centrally situated, postmortem fracture of the end-plate

Mean and Range of Disc Compression Failures by

Age (Adapted from Evans, 1959, and Sonoda, 1962)
10000

Should job design

8000 factor in age?
Compressive
Forces
Resulting in 6000
Disc-
Vertebrae 4000
Failures at
L5/S1 Level
2000
(Newtons)

0
<40 40-50 50-60 >60
AGE

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Compressive Strength (N) Estimated for L4/L5
Model opposite shows
Spinal Unit from Mechanical Testing of the lever arms (A-D)
Lumbar Spinal Units (males 20-40 years, from L3-L4 for the head,
n = 17). Porter, Hutton and Adams, 1989: trunk, arms and lifted
Hutton and Adams, 1982 weight.

Age Compressive Strength (N)

Data in table overleaf
Mean 28 10,093 was from calculated for
world championship
Std. Dev. 9 1,924 level power lifters.

Fatigue Failure
 Compression fracture is the common
failure mode of the vertebra-disc complex
in severe axial loading. This mechanism
does not apply to repetitive loading within
the linear portion of the stress-strain curve.
Low back pain and back disorders
associated with frequent lifting, whole-body
vibration and repeated shocks point to a
chronic degeneration of tissues, rather than
acute failure.

Stress analysis of the proximal

Tissue Tolerance end of the femur
Acute trauma

Load
Injury Threshold

Tolerance Chronic

Repetitive

Repetition

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 Avoiding Tension and Shear
Balanced Loads
There are many examples where
carrying is designed to carry two
balanced loads in each hand rather
than one heavier load in one hand.

Stress in the Human Heel. The model (left) with

forces applied indicated by arrows. Stress Continuous lines =
pattern indicated by polarized light (right). compressive stress.

Dotted lines =
tensile stress.

Red line shows

epiphysial plate

Resolution of Vectors Where there is tensile stress across an epiphysial

plate (such as the proximal end of the tibia) a lot
of collagen fibres are present to protect the plate
Compression from excess tension.
across an
epipheseal plate Quadriceps muscle
is less damaging force pulls on
than tension. insertion point (via
patella tendon)

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 Viscoelastic Characteristics Viscoelastic Characteristics

Load Load Hysteresis loop

Fracture ) Shaded area
m
or represents lost
Quick ef
(d n) energy (heat)
ad t ur
Lo (re
Fracture d
Slow oa
nl
U

Deformation Deformation

Stress Fractures

Bone Remodeling
Issues of degeneration
and regeneration
Normal

Load
Immobilized

(Wolff’s Law)

Deformation

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 Loading, Muscular Activity, Tibial Boot-Top Fracture
and Injury
 Injury vs. Loading
 complex problem depending on loading
level, direction, speed, skeletal maturity
and conditioning.
 Muscular Activity vs. Loading
 muscular activity influences loading (often
reducing tensile loading). If muscles
fatigue their ability to do this is
compromised.

Sample Problem Answer

Two total arm segments = 7.4 kg
 What is the compressive force on the (0.4 + 1.2 + 2.1) x 2
L5/S1 vertebral disk of the 50% male?
Head, neck and trunk above L5/S1= 33.5 kg
 What is the compressive stress on this disk
Total mass above L5/S1 = 40.9 kg.
if it is aligned horizontally and its cross-
sectional surface area is 24 cm2? Force on disk = 40.9 x -9.81= -401.2 N
 What is the compressive force on one tibia Stress = 401.2/24 = 16.7 N/cm2
if the 50% male stands in the anatomical 401.2/0.0024 167,179 Pa or 167 kPa
position (symmetrical weight bearing Total mass less two shanks and feet = 74.4 -
between both feet)? 8.8 = 65.6 kg ⇒ 643.5 N. Per tibia = 321.8 N

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