Comparison of shear forces and ligament loading in the healthy and ACL-deficient knee during gait

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to predict and explain the pattern of shear force and ligament loading in the ACL-deficient knee during walking, and to compare these results to similar calculations for the healthy knee. Musculoskeletal modeling and computer simulation were combined to calculate ligament forces in the ACL-deficient knee during walking. Joint angles, ground-reaction forces, and the corresponding lower-extremity muscle forces obtained from a whole-body dynamic optimization simulation of walking were input into a second three-dimensional model of the lower extremity that represented the knee as a six degree-of-freedom spatial joint. Anterior tibial translation (ATT) increased thro..