BASIC SCIENCE

An introduction to basic forces transmitted across joints when the body is stationary.
Dynamics is concerned with the motion of objects and the forces

mechanics* acting upon them; the principles of dynamics can be used in

orthopaedics to analyse the forces transmitted through the joints
and the corresponding motions when the body is undertaking
Ruth K Wilcox activity.
The aim of this paper is to describe the basic principles of
statics and dynamics in sufficient detail to cover many of the
Summary common applications in orthopaedics. Throughout the text,
The principles of solid mechanics have many important applications in quantities are defined in terms of their SI units; the basic quan-
orthopaedics. The aim of this paper is to cover the basic concepts of tities of length, mass and time are measured in this system using
statics and dynamics, including both kinetics and kinematics. The the metre (m), the kilogramme (kg) and the second (s),
equations most commonly used in biomechanical analysis are intro- respectively.
duced and examples are given of their use in orthopaedic applications.
Keywords biomechanics; dynamics; mechanics; statics Statics
Scalars and vectors
The physical quantities used in this article are of two types: scalars
and vectors. A scalar quantity can be fully described by only its
Introduction magnitude, and examples include mass, temperature and density.
Mechanics is the name given to the branch of engineering sci- A vector quantity has both magnitude and direction and both are
ence that deals with forces acting upon objects. It has many needed for the quantity to be fully described. Examples include
important applications in modern orthopaedics. Much of our velocity, force and moment. A vector is depicted in this text in bold
modern understanding of mechanics is based on the work of type (e.g. F), and its magnitude in normal type (e.g. F ).
Isaac Newton (1642e1729) and many of the principles dis-
Force and moment
cussed in this paper are derived from the three laws of motion
One of the most important vector quantities in mechanics is
published in his most famous work, Principia, in 1687. In more
force (F). It can be defined as the action between two bodies,
recent times, the concepts of mechanics have been applied to
such as a ‘push’ or ‘pull’. The SI unit of force is the Newton (N)
the study of the human body, its motion and the forces acting
which is equivalent to 1 kg m s
2. Since force is a vector, both the
upon it. This subject is often referred to as ‘biomechanics’. Our
magnitude of the force and the direction in which it acts are
increased understanding in this area has led to significant im-
important.
provements in the design of many medical devices and in-
The moment of a force (M) is defined as the product of the
terventions. In orthopaedics, for example, our ability to
force and the perpendicular distance about which it rotates.
determine the method of force transmission between an implant
Moment is also a vector quantity; the direction of a moment is
and the surrounding bone has led to alterations in prosthetic
described by the ‘right-hand rule’: if the fingers of the hand are
design to prevent bone loss due to stress shielding. Our
curled to represent the direction of rotation then the thumb, if
knowledge of the forces transmitted through the joints under
held perpendicular to the fingers, represents the direction of
different motions has also enabled the development of appa-
the moment (Fig. 1). The unit of moment is the Newton-metre
ratus to simulate these motions in the laboratory, which in turn
(N m).
has led to improvements in the design of joint replacements to
enhance their wear characteristics. Scalar and vector addition
Mechanics is often divided into the study of solids and the Often in mechanics, we wish to add physical quantities together.
study of fluids, although many of the same principles can With scalars, this is done simply by summing the magnitudes,
equally be applied to both. In the clinical field, fluid mechanics but with vectors, the direction must also be taken into account.
is often associated with the study of the cardiovascular and With two or more vectors in two dimensions, this can be done
respiratory systems, although the subject also has important most easily using the parallelogram rule. Here, each vector
applications in orthopaedics, particularly in the study of fluid- quantity is depicted by an arrow in the appropriate direction,
film lubrication at the synovial joints. This paper, however, the length of which is proportional to the magnitude of the
will focus on solid mechanics, which in turn is divided into the vector. The arrows form two sides of a parallelogram and the
fields of statics and dynamics. Statics is the study of equilibrium sum or resultant vector is the diagonal of the parallelogram
forces acting on objects in a state of rest; the principles of statics (Fig. 2).
can be used in orthopaedics to estimate loads on the body and
Components of a vector
*
The same rule can also be used in reverse to determine the
This article is a reprint of a previously published article. For citation
components of a vector in different directions. It is often useful to
purposes, please use the original publication details; Current Orthopaedics
split a vector into two perpendicular directions (or three in three
(2006) 20, 1e8. DOI of original item: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cuor.2005.
09.003. Reproduced with permission from Current Orthopaedics. dimensions) as shown in Fig. 3a.
Ruth K Wilcox PhD MEng Professor School of Mechanical Engineering, The resolution of forces is particularly useful in biome-
University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. chanics where there are often many loads being applied to a

ORTHOPAEDICS AND TRAUMA 30:3 169 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 BASIC SCIENCE

body in many different directions. Here, the forces can all be

a resolved into their component parts along the same perpen-
dicular directions. In any of these directions, the components
X of all the forces can then be summed like scalars (Fig. 3b). The
a resultant force can be calculated by the recombination of the
components. In three dimensions this enables mathematical
F methods to be used without the need to draw out complex
parallelogram diagrams.

b Equilibrium
W Newton’s first law states that an object will remain in a state of
rest or of uniform motion (that is, travelling at a constant ve-
b cos θ
locity) unless acted upon by a force. Therefore if an object is in a
θ X state of rest, then the sum of all of the forces and all of the
b moments acting upon it must be zero. It is also true that the sum
of the components of all of the forces or moments in any given
c direction must be zero.

d Action and reaction

Newton’s third law states that for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction. If a person stands on one leg,
then all of the body weight of the person is transmitted
through the foot to the ground. Since the ground does not
accelerate away, it must exert an equal and opposite force on
ϕ the foot. This force is often referred to as the ‘ground reaction
mg
force’.

Figure 1 (a) Moment of force F about point X: magnitude¼Fa, Free body diagrams
direction¼out of page. (b) Moment of force W about point X: magni- These laws are used in biomechanics to make estimates of the
tude¼Fb cos q, direction¼into page. (c) Force of mass due to muscle and joint reaction forces acting in the body under certain
gravity¼mg, perpendicular distance from mass to shoulder¼d sin f, loading conditions. A ‘free body diagram’ is often drawn by
magnitude of moment on shoulder joint due to mass¼mgd sin f. isolating a region of interest and determining all of the external
forces that act upon that region. An example of a free body di-
agram is shown in Fig. 4. Here, the region of interest is the hip
a joint. The forces acting on the joint from above are due to the
FR
F1 body weight of the upper torso and the abductor muscle force,
which is assumed to act along a single line of action. For this
particular problem, the method by which the ground reaction
F2 force is transmitted through the leg is not of interest, but we
know that this must cause a force to be transmitted into the re-
b
gion of interest via the femoral head. Therefore a third force is
ϕ θ added to the diagram to represent this reaction force across the
FQT joint. Assuming that the body is known to be in equilibrium, then
FPT
the sum of the forces acting upon it in any direction must be
equal to zero. Likewise, the sum of the moments about any point
must be equal to zero. This enables a series of equations to be
written and solved to find the unknown abductor and joint re-
action forces.
1. Sum of moments about point P ¼ 0:

FAM d2
Wd1 ¼ 0
FPT FQT
Wd1 ð1Þ
0FAM ¼ :
FR d2
2. Sum of components of forces in y direction¼0:
Figure 2 (a) The parallelogram rule is used to find the resultant of two
forces F1 and F2. To differentiate forces from their resultants on
diagrams, the resultant force is shown with a double arrowhead. (b)
W
FAM cos f þ FJR cos q ¼ 0
ð2Þ
The quadriceps (FQT) and patella (FPT) tendon forces acting on the 0FJR cos q ¼ W þ FAM cos f:
patella. The resultant force acts to pull the patella against the femur.

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 BASIC SCIENCE

a
F

F y = F sin θ y

θ x
F x = F cos θ

x y
Resolving into directions:
y x

F PT cos ϕ
- F PT cos φ
ϕ FPT =
= F PT sin ϕ - F PT sin φ
FPT

F QT sin θ
θ F QT cos θ
= F QT sin ϕ FQT =
FQT - F QT sin θ

F QT cos θ - FPT cos ϕ

F QT cos θ - F PT cos φ
FQT + FPT = = F QT sin θ + FPT sin ϕ
- (F QT sin θ + F QT sin φ)

FR

Figure 3 (a) The force F resolved into its component parts in the x and y directions. (b) The quadriceps and patella tendon forces can each be split
into their components in two perpendicular directions (x and y). The components in any direction can then be added as scalars with positive values
taken in the direction of the x and y arrows shown. A vector format using [ ] is often used to show the x and y components. The components can be
re-combined to give the same resultant force as in Fig. 2.

3. Sum of components of forces in x direction¼0: Computational methods using optimisation routines are also now
used to estimate the most likely way muscles combine to
generate a particular force.
FAM sin f
FJR sin q ¼ 0
ð3Þ
0FJR sin q ¼ FAM sin f: Dynamics
4. From (2) and (3) Introduction
Many textbooks of mechanics introduce the principles of dy-
FJR sin q FAM sin f namics by considering a single particle, i.e., an object of negli-
¼ tan q ¼ : ð4Þ gible dimensions. This is usually followed by consideration of a
FJR cos q W þ FAM cos f
rigid body, an object whose changes in shape are negligible
compared to the size of the motions it undergoes. However, the
Practical methods in biomechanics human body is neither a particle nor a rigid body! Nonetheless,
Although any number of equations could be written to state the we can assume in many cases that the bony structure is domi-
equilibrium conditions, they would not all be independent of nant in the body’s behaviour and can be assumed to behave as a
each other. In two dimensions, three independent equations can system of rigid bodies moving relative to each other.
be written: two for the sums of the forces and one for the sum of The subject of dynamics can be divided into kinematics and
the moments. In three dimensions, there are six independent kinetics. Kinematics is the study of the relationship between the
equations. Mathematically, the number of unknowns that can be position, velocity and acceleration of objects while kinetics is
determined cannot be greater than the number of independent concerned with both the motion of objects and the forces acting
equations. In biomechanics, this means that simplifications often upon them.
have to be made to limit the number of unknowns. This may
involve grouping muscles together or ignoring smaller muscle Kinematics
groups completely. Data may also be obtained from EMG mea- Translation and rotation
surements to generate additional equations and our knowledge The plane motion of a rigid body may be divided into translation
of how muscles and tendons behave may add further constraints. and rotation. Translation occurs when every line in the body

ORTHOPAEDICS AND TRAUMA 30:3 171 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 BASIC SCIENCE

same as for translation. Thus angular velocity is the rate of

d1
turning or the change in angle per time and is measured in
rad s
1 whilst angular acceleration is defined as the rate of
change of angular velocity and is measured in rad s
2.

Instantaneous centre of rotation

ϕ FAM If a body is both translating and rotating in a single plane, the
W
point about which it rotates moves with time. At any given time,
P d2
the point is described as the instantaneous centre of rotation
FJR (ICR). This can be determined by taking two or more points on
the object, determining the direction of travel of these points at a
θ particular time and finding the intersection of lines drawn
perpendicular to those directions as shown in Fig. 5.
y In three dimensions, instead of defining the rotation about a
single point, rotation is considered about a line or axis. At any
x given point in time, a rigid body can be considered to be rotating
about an axis and translating along the same axis.
Figure 4 A free body diagram of a person standing on their left leg.
The abductor muscle forces are assumed to act as a point force Degrees of freedom
FAM at a known position and in a known direction. If the hip joint is In general, in two dimensions, three coordinates are required to
assumed to be frictionless, then the moment caused by the weight
fully define the position of a rigid body: two define the x and y
of the upper body W must be balanced by the abductor muscle
force. This can be calculated by taking moments about P. Once
coordinates of a specific datum point on the body and the third
FAM is known, the joint reaction force FJR can also be calculated defines the orientation of the body relative to that point. The
by taking the sum of the components of the forces in the x and y body may translate, which will alter the x and y coordinates of
directions. This produces two equations that can be combined as the datum point, or rotate, which will alter the orientation co-
shown to find the direction q and then the magnitude of FJR. ordinate. Each coordinate is known as a degree of freedom. In
three dimensions, there are six possible degrees of freedom: three
translational along three perpendicular axes and three rotational
remains parallel to its original position whilst pure rotation oc- about each of the three axes (Fig. 6).
curs when every point in the body moves in a circular path
around the centre of rotation. Most motions of the human body Relative motion at the joint surfaces
are a mixture of rotation and translation. In the diarthrodial joints, the relative motions of the bones are
constrained by the geometry of the joint surfaces and action of
Velocity and acceleration the ligaments and muscles spanning the joint. When the two
The velocity of a body is defined as the rate of change of position
of the body with respect to time, or more simply, it is the speed of
the body in a given direction. So a car’s speedometer measures
only the scalar quantity speed, while a GPS can also determine
the direction in which the car is heading and therefore its ve-
locity. Velocity is measured in m s
1. Acceleration is defined as
the rate of change of velocity and is measured in m s
2.
The rate of change of a quantity with respect to time is often B’
B
depicted mathematically by a dot over the quantity. So if an
object has a position represented by the vector x, the velocity
::
may be written as x_ and the acceleration as x.
If the displacement of an object is plotted against time on a
graph, then the velocity at any given time is equal to the gradient
of the graph at that point. Likewise, the acceleration of the object A’
is the gradient of the velocityetime graph. These relationships
can be used to determine the velocity and acceleration of body
A
segments by filming the position of markers fitted to the body ICR
during a particular activity. The area under the velocityetime
graph is equal to the distance travelled and the area under the
accelerationetime graph is equal to the velocity.
Figure 5 The instantaneous centre of rotation can be found by
Angular velocity and angular acceleration determining the velocity vectors of two points on a rigid body. If the
Physical quantities to measure linear motion such as velocity and points A and B move to A0 and B0 over a small time interval, then the
acceleration have equivalents in rotation and, although the velocity vectors are as shown and the instantaneous centre of rotation
equations may be less straightforward, the principles are the is at the point where lines perpendicular to the velocity vectors cross.

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 BASIC SCIENCE

Kinetics
z
Linear momentum
Linear momentum is defined as the product of mass and velocity
y and has units of kg m s
1. Since velocity is a vector, momentum
is also a vector quantity.
Newton’s second law states that the rate of change of mo-
mentum is equal to the applied force. Normally, the mass of the
object remains constant and thus:

F ¼ rate of change of ðmvÞ;

_
F ¼ mv;
x F ¼ ma:

That is, the force applied to an object is equal to the mass of the
object multiplied by its acceleration. An object of mass m falling
under gravity will accelerate at 9.81 m s
2(¼g), so the gravi-
Figure 6 In three dimensions, a rigid body such as the vertebra has six metric force acting upon the object is equal to mg. If the object is
degrees of freedom. Relative to another object (such as the adjacent prevented from moving, for example, by the ground, then the
vertebra), it can rotate about and translate along any of the axes ground must apply an equal and opposite force of mg to the
shown. object. If the object is a person, this force is known as body
weight.

joint surfaces remain in contact, they may move relative to each Angular momentum
other by rolling or sliding. Figure 7 shows the simple case of a There is an equivalent rotational quantity to linear momentum
circular wheel on a flat surface. Rolling occurs when there is no called the moment of momentum or angular momentum. This is
relative velocity, that is, no slip, between the two contacting defined as the product of the linear momentum and perpendic-
points and the ICR is located at the point of contact. Sliding ular distance from a given point on the plane. Angular mo-
contact occurs when there is no resistive force between the two mentum therefore has units of kg m2 s
1. An equivalent form of
surfaces and the ICR is located at the centre of the wheel. The Newton’s second law also exists for angular momentum; it states
relative motion across the human joints is generally a combina- that the rate of change of angular momentum of a particle about
tion of rolling and sliding. Both take place simultaneously in the any fixed point in the plane is equal to the moment of the force
knee joint, whereas in the hip and shoulder joints, sliding motion about that point. For convenience, a term called the moment of
predominates. These concepts are important in the design of joint inertia (I ) is used in calculations of angular momentum. The
replacements, particularly if the natural relative motion is to be angular momentum is then given by Iu (where u is the angular
preserved. velocity) and the principle of angular momentum may be stated
as

_
Moment of external forces ¼ I u:
a
This is exactly equivalent to the linear case with moment
replacing force, moment of inertia replacing mass and angular
acceleration replacing linear acceleration.

Moment of inertia
For a particle of mass m rotating about an axis at radius r, the
ICR Equal distance on ground and around wheel
moment of inertia is defined as I ¼ mr 2 . In biomechanics most
b objects of interest are not particles but solid bodies. Imagine the
object is made up of many small particles; then the total moment
of inertia of the object is equal to the sum of the moments of
No translation inertia of all of the individual particles. The r 2 term here is very
ICR
important, the further the particle is from the axis of rotation, the
greater its influence on the moment of inertia of the object. So if
an object were rotated, the moment required to accelerate it
Figure 7 (a) Rolling contact occurs when there is no relative motion would depend not just on the mass of the object, but also on how
between the two surfaces. The point where the wheel touches the
the mass was distributed relative to the axis of rotation.
ground is the instantaneous centre of rotation since there is no motion
at this point. (b) Sliding contact occurs when there is no relative
The principle of angular momentum is illustrated by an ice
translation of the two objects. The instantaneous centre of rotation is skater spinning on the spot (Fig. 8). The skater starts the spin
therefore located in the centre of the wheel. with arms held outstretched and one leg extended outwards.

ORTHOPAEDICS AND TRAUMA 30:3 173 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 BASIC SCIENCE

a a

b
F

θ
b

mg

Figure 9 (a) Work done¼Fd. (b) Work done¼F cos q d. (c) Work done in
lifting weight against gravity¼mgh.

Figure 8 (a) A figure skater begins to spin with a high moment of inertia
due to their outstretched arms and leg. (b) When the limbs are brought 1
close to the body, the moment of inertia drops and the speed of Kinetic energy ¼ mv2 :
2
rotation increases.
This can be proved for the simple case of an object accelerating at
Then, by moving the limbs closer to the axis of rotation, the
a constant rate a from stationary to velocity v:
moment of inertia of the skater is reduced. If the frictional effects
of the ice are ignored, then no external moments or forces (other
initial velocity ¼ 0;
than gravity) are acting on the skater and therefore their angular
momentum (¼Iu) will remain constant. Thus if I decreases, the final velocity ¼ v;
angular velocity u must increase and the skater will rotate faster. time taken ¼ t;
v
acceleration ¼ ;
Work and energy t
vt
Work is defined as the product of a force and the distance moved distance travelled ¼ ðthis can be calculated from the area
2
by the point of application of the force in the direction of the
under the velocity
time graphÞ;
force, shown in Fig. 9. Energy is defined as the capacity to do
mv
work. Work and energy are measured in units of joules (J) where force applied to body ¼ mass  acceleration ¼ ;
t
1 J¼1 N m. Potential energy and kinetic energy are the most mv vt 1 2
common forms of energy encountered in biomechanics. Potential work done ¼ force  distance ¼  ¼ mv :
t 2 2
energy relates to the position of an object relative to an initial
point and equals the work done in moving it from the initial point
to its present position, for example, lifting a weight against Conservation of energy
gravity. By lifting a mass m through a height h, the work done For most biomechanical problems, the effects of other forms of
against the force of gravity is equal to the force acting on the energy are negligible and it can be assumed that an object, or
object (¼mg) multiplied by the distance moved along the line of system of objects, contains only kinetic and potential energy.
action of the force: Such a system is said to be ‘conservative’ if there is no dissipa-
tion of energy, for example, through heat loss due to internal
Potential energy ¼ mgh: friction forces or cyclic loading. If no external work is done on a
conservative system then the sum of the potential and kinetic
Kinetic energy relates to the velocity of an object and is the work energy will remain constant. Thus if there is an increase in ki-
done in increasing the velocity of the object from zero to its netic energy, there must be a corresponding decrease in potential
present value. energy or vice versa.

ORTHOPAEDICS AND TRAUMA 30:3 174 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 BASIC SCIENCE

the mass can be calculated from the principle of conservation of

a
energy by assuming that the initial potential energy of the mass is
m converted to kinetic energy at the point of impact.

Conclusion
Many of the principles of mechanics may appear intuitive
without any knowledge of the underpinning science. For
example, when opening a stiff door, we instinctively apply a
h
force as far from the hinged edge as possible in order to create a
larger moment. And we know far greater force is required to
begin to move a trolley carrying a patient than an empty one.
However, the laws of mechanics may sometimes have surprising
results. It may seem counter-intuitive that an ice skater will
speed up as the arms are moved inwards or that a gyroscope can
stay balanced in an apparently gravity-defying position. It is only
by gaining an understanding of the underlying mechanical
principles that these phenomena are explained. The aim of this
paper has been to provide such an understanding of the key
b principles of solid mechanics and illustrate some of their many
applications in orthopaedics. The emphasis has been on the
v concepts rather than the details of the mathematics and the
m
suggestions given in the “Further reading” section should be
referred to if more in-depth mathematical derivations are
required. A

FURTHER READING
Figure 10 (a) When mass is held at hight h: potential energy of
Dowson D. Basic mechanics. In: Dowson D, Wright V, eds. Introduc-
mass¼mgh, kinetic energy of mass¼00total energy¼mgh. (b) When
mass impacts on specimen: potentialpenergy¼00kinetic energy¼total tion to the biomechanics of joint replacement. London: Mechanical
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
energy¼mgh01/2mv2¼mgh 0v ¼ 2gh. Engineering Publications Ltd., 1981; 11e20.
Meriam JL, Kraig LG. Engineering mechanics: dynamics, 5th ed., vol.
2, New York: Wiley; 2002.
Energy equations in biomechanics Mow VC, Flatow EL, Ateshian GA. Biomechanics. In: Buckwalter JA,
The principle of the conservation of energy is useful in biome- Einhorn TA, Simon SR, eds. Orthopaedic basic science. Biology
chanics to make estimates of the velocity of an object or body and biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system. 2nd ed. Rose-
segment from a knowledge of its initial potential energy. For mont: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2000;
example, in the laboratory, fractures can be generated using a drop 133e80.
test rig in which a known mass m is dropped from a known height Mow VC, Hayes WC. Basic orthopaedic biomechanics. 2nd ed. Phil-
h onto a bone specimen, as shown in Fig. 10. The impact velocity of adelphia: Lippincott-Raven, 1997.

ORTHOPAEDICS AND TRAUMA 30:3 175 Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.