Reducing uncertainty in the measurement of knee joint loading
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Reducing uncertainty in the measurement of knee joint loading during dynamic sporting activities
IRAS ID
254845
Contact name
Mark Lake
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool John Moores University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Knee motion and loading during locomotion has been evaluated using three-dimensional dynamic models of the lower limbs and pelvis and the determination of moments acting about the joint. These models have been used as tools for clinical decision-making in injury prevention and rehabilitation. However, many studies have shown that various stages of the joint moment computations contain measurement errors in factors such as: 1) determining joint centre locations; 2) marker placement; 3) soft tissue artefacts; 4) magnitude of ground reaction forces and 5) estimating body segment parameters. All of these factors have a combined influence on the calculated joint loading profiles and sometimes the output can contain considerable errors and can often lead to misleading findings. Previous work has examined the sensitivity of various input parameters in joint moment estimates but this has mainly focused on walking gait. Very little work has examined the relative importance of factors that influence joint kinetics during highly dynamic sporting actions. This programme of doctoral work aims to reduce the measurement errors associated with knee joint moment calculations during both walking and high frequency movement tasks often associated with sports injury.
This study will:
Replicate and challenge previous work examining the relative importance of various parameters on the calculation of knee joint moments during walking gait.
Extend the above work to include dynamic sporting movements (e.g. jump landings) using novel approaches to reduce the magnitude of measurement errors.This will be addressed below:
The relative importance of different measurement variables in the determination of knee joint moments will be re-confirmed during walking gait and then explored for the first time during highly dynamic sporting actions. The sensitivity of the knee joint moments to specific input parameters will be investigated. The most important factors influencing the joint moment calculations will be established as part of this work.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0097
Date of REC Opinion
28 Mar 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion