Mechanical Engineering - Theses
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ItemAnterior cruciate ligament injury mechanism during impact load( 2013)Landing is an inevitable physical activity in many sports such as basketball, soccer, and gymnastics. Upon landing, Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is one of the most susceptible knee structures to injury. The overarching aim of this dissertation is to investigate the biomechanics of landing maneuver and ACL injury mechanisms. In this study, two experimental approaches were used to quantify the effects of muscle forces and impact loads on ACL loading: human motion capture and in-vitro experiments. In the first approach, kinematics and kinetics data were collected from 8 male and 8 female athletes performing different landing tasks, then musculoskeletal models were developed in OpenSim (Simtk, Stanford) to predict muscle and joint reaction forces. The muscle forces then helped to calculate the ligament loading during landing. In the second approach, an in-vitro study was conducted to investigate the role of knee joint orientation and impact loads in all anatomical planes. It was found that not only the knee joint muscles, but also the coordination of muscles surrounding the ankle joint played a major role in protecting the ACL from injury. The results also suggested that inhibition of tibial rotation could potentially increase the load needed to cause ACL injury, hence increasing the threshold of ACL injury. However, other types of joint damages might occur. The findings of this study would contribute towards developing new neuromuscular training methods or knee bracing systems that could reduce the physical, economic, and emotional burden of debilitating ACL injuries.