Biomechanics of

Musculoskeletal System

Strahinja Dosen, sdosen@hst.aau.dk

University of Novi Sad, Dec 2010

Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal System

Lecture 1:

Human body: Basic anatomy and physiology

Lecture 2:

Human movement recording

Lecture 3:

Muscle modeling and simulations

Lecture 4:

Musculoskeletal modeling and simulations

Lecture 5:

Modeling for functional electrical stimulation

Lecture 1:

Human body: basic anatomy and physiology

Strahinja Dosen, sdosen@hst.aau.dk

1. Skeleton (bones, joints)

2. Tendons
3. Ligaments
4. Muscles (structure, properties)
5. Peripheral nerves and receptors
6. Central nervous system

Bones
Mechanical functions
Support
Transfer forces (lever)
Protection of internal organs

Physiological functions
Forming blood cells (hematopoiesis)
To store calcium (mineral homeostasis)

Bones
NAME OF BODY REGION"

No of
Bones

VERTEBRAL COLUMN, SACRUM,

AND COCCYX

26

CRANIUM

FACE

14

AUDITORY OSCICLES

HYOID BONE, STERNUM AND RIBS

26

UPPER EXTREMITIES

64

LOWER EXTREMITIES

62

TOTAL

206

Bone Composition
Connective tissue
Biphasic (composite) material
(~fiberglass)
Composition:
Cells (osteocyte)
Extracellular matrix of fibers (collagen)
Ground substance (proteoglycans)
Water (25 %)
Mineral salts

Microscopic Structure

Macroscopic Structure

Frontal longitudinal section through the head neck, great trochanter, and
proximal shaft of the adult femur. Cancellous bone, with the trabeculae
oriented in a lattice, lies within the shell of cortical bone. (From 13th
American Ed. Of Anatomy of the Human Body, Philadelphia, 1985.)

Material testing

F/A

(L Lo)/Lo

Bone characteristics

ANISOTHROPY

Loading modes

Bone Fractures

Bone Remodeling

JOINTS

JOINTS

Joints

Cartilage

Transferring forces between bones

Distributing forces (loads) in the joints
Relative movement with minimal friction
Highly specialized tissue
Typical thickness (1 5 mm)
Isolated tissue (without blood vessels, lymph
channels, nerves)
Lowest cellular density

Cartilage Composition
Biphasic (composite) material (~ stiff
sponge): fibrous organic matrix and tissue
fluid (60%, mostly water)
Extracellular matrix of collagen fibrils
enmeshed in concentrated solution of
proteoglycans
Cell (chondrocytes)

Microscopic Structure
Collagen

Microscopic Structure
Proteoglycan Aggregates

Macroscopic Structure

Viscoelastic Properties

Self-Lubrication

MIXED LUBRICATION

BOOSTED LUBRICATION

Wear of the Cartilage

Muscle, Tendon, Bone

Tendons
Attach muscles to the bones and transmit
tensile loads from muscles to bone,
thereby producing joint motion.
The tendon enables the muscle to act at a
mechanically optimal point that can be
very distant from the actual muscle body

Tendon composition

Parallel-fibered collagenous tissue

Cells (fibroblasts)
Water (70%)
Solid (30%):
Collagen (>75%)
Proteoglycans (much less then in cartilage)

Structure

Muscle Tendon Bone

OSTEO-TENDON JUNCTION

MYO-TENDON JUNCTION

Tensile Properties

Ligaments
To attach articulating bones to one
another across a joint
To guide joint movement
To maintain joint congruency

Ligament Composition
Very similar to tendons

Ligament Bone Junction

Ligament Function

Ligament Properties

MUSCLES

Skeletal
Muscle
Structure

Contraction

Contraction

Muscle fiber properties

Length Active Tension

Muscle fiber properties

Length Total Tension

Muscle fiber properties

Velocity Tension

Muscle fiber properties

Velocity Length Tension

Muscle Activation Twitch

Muscle Activation Tetanus

Motor units

MOTOR UNITS ARE ORGANIZED

ACCORDING TO:

SIZE
The smallest motor units are in muscles that
must produce very fine gradations of force (e.g.,
lumbricals - 100 fib/unit, eye muscles - 5 fib/unit).

DISTRIBUTION WITHIN MUSCLE

The fibers which make up a motor unit are not

adjacent to one another, but they inhabit the
same general region of the muscle.

Motor unit types

SIZE PRINCIPLE
MOTORNEURON /
MUSCLE FIBERS
Small diameter
motorneurons innervate
slow oxidative fibers.
Intermediate sized
motorneurons innervate
fast oxidative/glycolitic
fibers
Large diameter
motorneurons innervate
fast glycolitic fibers.

SIZE PRINCIPLE
Small diameter motorneurons
are more easily excited
compared with the large
diameter motorneurons.
Therefore:
1. Slow oxidative motor units
are recruited by relatively low
level of excitatory synaptic
input.
2. Fast glycolitic motor units
are recruited by high levels of
excitatory synaptic input.

RECRUITMENT

SKELETAL MUSCLES
plexus

Flexion/extension
Abduction/adduction

Internal/External Rotation
(Medial/Lateral)
____________________
Monoarticular muscles
(over 1 joint)
Biarticular muscles
(over 2 joints)

Multiarticular muscles
(over more than 2 joints)

tendon

SKELETAL MUSCLES

SKELETAL MUSCLES

Agonist muscle primarily responsible for

the movement
Antagonist - muscle which opposes the
agonistic action
Synergist muscle that assists the
agonistic action

Fixator synerigistic muscle that assists

stabilization of the joint

SKELETAL MUSCLES

C
D
B

J
H

Muscles controlling the hip joint: medial rotation (left panel) and lateral rotation (right
panel). A) Gluteus Medius m. and Gluteus Maximus m; B) The Tensor Fascia Latae
m; C) Adductor Magnus; D) Gluteus Minimus m. and m; E) Illipsoas m; F) Gluteus
Maximus m; H) Gracilis m; G) Pectineus m; I) Piriformis m; J) Quadratus Femoris m;
K) Obturator Internus m.

Muscle, Tendon, Bone

PERIPHERAL
NERVES

PERIPHERAL
NERVES

MAIN BRANCHES OF RADIAL

NERVE

BRANCHES OF MUSCULOCUTANEOUS, MEDIAN & ULNAR N.

BRACHIAL N.
PLEXUS

AXILARY N.

Main branches
of radial nerve
(left), and
median and
ulnar nerves
(right).

RADIAL N.

MEDIAN N.
DEEP BRANCH
OF
RADIAL N.
SUPERFICIAL
BRANCH OF
RADIAL N.

DORSAL
DIGITAL N.

ULNAR N.
CUTANEOUS
NERVES

DEEP BRANCH OF
ULNAR N.
SUPERFICIAL
BRANCH OF
ULNAR N.

PERIPHERAL
NERVES

LUMBAR
PLEXUS
SACRAL
PLEXUS

LATERAL FEMORAL
CUTANEOUS N.

PUDENTAL N.
FEMORAL N.
SCIATIC N.

SAPHENOUS N.

COMMON
PERONEAL N.

TIBIAL N.
LATERAL SURAL
CUTANEOUS N.
MEDIAL AND LAT.
PLANTAR N.

DEEP PERONEAL N.

SUPERFICIAL
PERNOEAL N.

PERIPHERAL NERVES
INTRAFUSAL MOTOR
NEURON (MUSCLE
SPINDLE)

TENDON

GAMMA MOTOR
NEURON

PRIMARY
SPINDLE
AFFERENT

GOLGI TENDON
ORGAN
AFFERENT

SECONDARY
SPINDLE
AFFERENT

GOLGI TENDON
ORGAN

FREE
NERVE
ENDING

ALFA MOTOR
NEURON
EXTRAFUSAL
MUSCLE
FIBER

The muscle spindles (intrafusal fibers) are in

parallel with the extrafusal fibers; the Golgi
tendon organs are in series. The intrafusal
fibers attach actually to the extrafusal fibers, not
to the tendons

MUSCLE
TENDON

PERIPHERAL NERVES

Control loops

SPINAL CORD

CERVICAL
NERVES

CERVICAL
CORD

THORACIC
CORD
THORACIC
NERVES
LUMBOSACRAL
ENLARGEMENT

LUMBAR
CORD
SACRAL
CORD

LUMBAR
NERVES

SACRAL
NERVES

Lateral view of the spinal cord and its location in the spinal canal.

SPINAL CORD
DORSAL MEDIUM
SEPTUM
DORSAL
ROOT GANGLION

DORSAL INTERMEDIATE
SEPTUM
ZONE OF LISSAEUR
DORSAL COLUMN

VENTRAL COLUMN

GRAY MATTER
WHITE MATTER

VENTRAL MEDIAN
FISSURE
DORSAL HORN
INTERMEDIATE
ZONE
VENTRAL HORN

The white matter of the spinal cord is divided into columns, and the gray
matter is divided into horns. The Roman numbers show laminae divided
in three major divisions.

DORSAL ROOT

INTERMEDIATE ZONE

DORSAL ROOT
GANGLION

DORSAL HORN
VENTRAL HORN
VENTRAL ROOT
DORSOLATERAL
CELL GROUP
MOTOR NEURAL POOL TO
LIMB MUSCLES

VENTROMEDIAL
CELL GROUP

MOTOR NEURON POOL

TO AXIAL MUSCLES

Input-output organization of spinal segments and interconnections

between segments.

SPINAL CORD

Central Pattern Generator

Basic rhythm
Variable response
Evidence from non-primates
Local or distributed
Single-cell or network

THE SPINAL CORD / INTEGRATION &

CINNECDTIVITY
The spinal cord has a lot of clockwork that can be mixed
and matched to perform tasks (This was mostly
postulated by Sherington reflex)
The brain learns to perform tasks by iteratively optimizing
its use of the spinal clockwork (Optimal control is
inevitable)
Some strategies take more practice and knowledge of
results to discover (coaches can help avoiding local
minima)
No brain ever foregoes a potentially useful strategy to
validate a pet theory (motor physiology tends to be
mechanically inevitable of experimentally falsifiable)

The major division of the central nervous system. The top portion is a cerebral
hemisphere. The parts are: cerebral hemispheres, diencephalon, midbrain, pons,
medulla and spinal cord.

ACTIVITY OF CORTICAL REGIONS - fMRI

ACTIVITY OF CORTICAL REGIONS - fMRI

The lateral view of the cerebral cortex of the left hemisphere.

HOMUNCULUS (Rasmunsen, 1950)