Prodi Profesi Fisioterapi

Poltekkes Kemenkes Jakarta 3

Tissues Mechanics
Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Outline

• Structure and biomechanical behavior of bone

• Structure and biomechanical behavior of skeletal muscles
• Structure and biomechanical behavior of nerves
• Structure and biomechanical behavior of articular cartilage
• Structure and biomechanical behavior of ligament/tendon

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Bone

• One of the most dynamic and metabolically active tissues in the body
and remain active throughout life

• A highly vascular tissue with excellent capacity for self repair

• Can alter its properties and configuration in response to mechanical

demand, e.g. :

ü Changes of density à periods of disuse and greatly increase use

ü Changes in bone shape are noted during fracture healing and post
op

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Bone

Function of skeletal system are:

• Protect internal organs

• Provide rigid kinematic links and muscle attachment sites

• Facilitate muscle action and body movement

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Structure of Bone

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Biomechanical Behavior of Bone
• The most mechanical properties of bone are its strength and stiffness
• When load in a known direction is imposed on a structure, the deformation of
that structure can be measured and plotted on a load-deformation curve

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Biomechanical Behavior of Bone
• Three parameter for determining the strength of structure:

1. The load that structure can sustain before failing

2. The deformation it can sustain before failing

3. The energy it can store before failing

• The strength in terms of load and deformation or ultimate strength indicated on the curve
by the ultimate failure point

• The strength in terms of energy storage is indicated by the size of the area under the entire
curve. The larger the area, the greater the energy that builds up in the structure as the load
is applied

• The stiffness of the structure is indicated by the slope of the curve in the elastic region. The
steeper the slope, the stiffer material

• Two compare mechanical properties of various material, the curve generated is stress-
strain curve which basically the same with load-deformation curve.
Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Biomechanical Behavior of Bone
• Stress (σ) is the load/ force per unit area that develops on a plane surface
within a structure in response to externally applied loads (N/m2, Pa)

• Strain (ϵ) is the deformation (change in dimension) that develops within

structure in response to applied external loads.

• The stiffness is represented by the slope of the curve in the elastic region.

• A value of stiffness is obtained by dividing the stress at a point in the elastic

(straight line) portion of the curve by the strain at that point. This value is
called the modulus of elasticity (Young’s Modulus = E) à E = !/ϵ

• The higher the elastic modulus, the stiffer the material.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Biomechanical Behavior of Bone

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Biomechanical Behavior of Bone

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Biomechanical Behavior of Bone
Bone behavior under various loading mode:

• Tension : The structure lengthens and narrows. Fractures produced by tensile loading
usually seen in bones with large of proportion of cancellous bone, e.g. fracture of the
base of 5th metatarsal

• Compression: The structure shortens and widens. Compression fracture commonly

found in the vertebra which are subjected to high compressive loads.
• Shear: Whenever it subjected to tensile and compression loads, shear stress is
produced. Shear fracture most often seen in cancellous bone.
• Bending: Whenever bone is loaded in bending, it subjected to combination of tensile
and compression. Bending fracture is the boot top fracture of skier (tibia and fibula).
• Torsion: Whenever bone is loaded in torsion, shear stress are distributed over the
entire structure. Torsion fracture is usually seen as crack, e.g. fracture of femur.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Skeletal Muscles

• Human body has more than 430 skeletal muscles, accounting for 40 -
45% of the total BW

• The most vigorous movements are produced by fewer than 80 pairs

• Skeletal muscles perform both static and dynamic work :

ü Static work à maintain body posture or position

ü Dynamic work à Permit locomotion and the positioning of the

body segments in space.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Skeletal Muscles

Function of skeletal muscles are:

• Provide strength and protection to the skeleton by distributing loads

and absorbing shock.

• Enable the bone to move at the joints and provide the maintenance
of body posture against force à performed by group of muscles not
individual muscle

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Structure of Skeletal Muscle

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Biomechanical Behavior of Skeletal Muscle
Types of muscle work and contraction:

• Dynamic Work

1. Concentric à When muscles develop sufficient tension to overcome the resistance of the body
segment, the muscles shorten and cause joint movement

2. Eccentric : When a muscle cannot develop sufficient tension and is overcome by the external load,
it progressively lengthens instead of shortening
3. Isokinetic : This is a type of dynamic muscle work in which movement of the joint is kept at a
constant velocity, and hence the velocity of shortening or lengthening of the muscle is constant.

4. Isoinertial : This is a type of dynamic muscle work wherein the resistance against which the muscle
must contract remains constant.

5. Isotonic : This term is commonly used to define muscle contraction in which the tension is
constant throughout a range of joint motion.

• Static Work

1. Isometric : Muscles are not always directly involved in the production of joint movements.
Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Biomechanical
Behavior of
Skeletal Muscle

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Tension-Length Relationship
Biomechanical
Behavior of
Skeletal Muscle

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Force - Time Relationship
 Biomechanical Behavior of Skeletal Muscle
• Two other factors that increase force production of muscles are pre-stretching
of muscles and rise in muscle temperature, e.g. initial flexion of TF socket to
pre-stretch the hip extensor as muscle power gain to achieve optimal gait
during walking (IC to LR and Push-off)

• Muscle atrophies occurs under disuse and immobilization, where it can be

restored through early and active remobilization.

• Muscle contraction against resistance also can lead to tears in muscle tissue.

• Muscle fatigue is first observed by the lack of coordination of movement and

its effect in the increasing of loads in tissue.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Nerves
• There are two nervous system à CNS (brain and spinal cord) and PNS
(spinal nerves and cranial nerves)
• Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system. In the
central nervous system, the analogous structures are known as
tracts.
• Each nerve is a cordlike structure that contains many axons. These
axons are often referred to as “fibers”.
• Within a nerve, each axon is surrounded by a layer of connective
tissue called the endoneurium.
• The axons are bundled together into groups called fascicles, and each
fascicle is wrapped in a layer of connective tissue called the
perineurium.
• The entire nerve is wrapped in a layer of connective tissue called the
epineurium.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Nerves

Three broad functions of nerves are:

• Senses changes in the body and in the external
environment
• It interprets these changes
• It responds to this interpretation by initiating action
in the form of muscle contraction or gland secretion

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Structure of Nerves

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
As the tensile load is increased, the nerve elongates at a steady rate, as demonstrated by the linear region of
the load-elongation curve. The slope of this portion of the curve is a measure of the resistance of the nerve
to deformation and is termed stiffness in the load-elongation curve or modulus of elasticity in the stress-
strain curve. A steep slope indicates that the nerve has more stiffness, has less elasticity, and is less
compliant than a nerve with a shallower slope. The ultimate stress or ultimate strain represents the
transition between the recoverable (elastic) strain and plastic (permanent) deformation areas of the load-
elongation curve. Finally, in the plastic region of the curve, the nerve reaches its ultimate elongation and
undergoes mechanical failure. Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Stress-relaxation curve demonstrating viscoelastic properties of peripheral nerve. When a
nerve is elongated and the new length is kept constant, there is a rapid reduction in the stress
within the nerve, expressed as percent reduced relaxation. Most of the relaxation occurs in the
first 20 minutes. The degree of elongation affects the amount of stress relaxation that will occur.
The dotted line represents a nerve that has been elongated to 6% above its resting length. The
solid line represents nerves that have been elongated to 9% and 12% above their resting
lengths. Greater stress relaxation was documented in nerves that underwent less elongation.
Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Articular Cartilage

• Dense, translucent, white connective tissue that covers

synovial joints (allows large degree of motion) in human
body.
• Highly specialized tissue precisely suited for withstanding
the highly loaded joint environment without failure during
an average individual lifetime.
• It is virtually an isolated tissue without blood vessels,
lymphatics channels, and neurologic innervation.
• Consists of collagen, proteoglycan and water (80%)

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Articular Cartilage

There are 2 main functions of synovial cartilage:

• To distribute joint loads over a wide area thus decreasing
the stress sustained by the contacting joint surfaces
• To allow relative movement of the opposing joint surfaces
with minimal friction and wear.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Structure of Cartilage

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Biomechanical Behavior of Cartilage

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Ligament/ Tendon

• Ligament and joint capsule acts as static restraints

• Tendon and muscles form the muscle-tendon unit, which
acts as dynamic restraints
• Tendon and ligaments are dense connective tissues
known as parallel-fibered collagenous tissues.
• The great mechanical stability of collagen gives the
tendons and ligaments their characteristic strength and
flexibility.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 Tendon/Ligament

The functions of ligaments and joint capsule:

• To connect bone with bone
• To augment the mechanical stability of the joints.
• To guide joint motion and to prevent excessive joint
motion
The functions of Tendon:
• To attach muscles to bone
• To transmit tensile loads from muscle to bone, thereby
producing joint motion or maintain body posture.
Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Structure of tendon and ligament

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
 THANK YOU!

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati
Reference

• Nordin M, Frankel VH, editors. Basic biomechanics of

the musculoskeletal system. Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins; 2001.

Biomechanics/Profesi FT/Polkesjati