Biomechanics of the hip

 Introduction
 Anatomical considerations
 The Acetabulum
 The Femoral Head
 The Femoral Neck
 Kinematics
 Range of Motion
 Surface joint Motion
 Kinetics
 Statics
 Dynamics
 Effect of External Support on Hip Joint Reaction Force
 Introduction
 One of the largest and most stable joint:
The hip joint

 Rigid ball-and-socket configuration

(Intrinsic stability)
Anatomy
 Composed of :
 Head of femur
 Acetabulum of pelvis

 Wide range of motion

 Walking, sitting, squatting
Surrounding large, strong muscles
 Acetabulum
 Concave component of ball
and socket joint

 Cover with articular

cartilage

 Provide with static stability

 Acetabulum
 Facing obliquely forward, outward and
downward
 Acetabulum
 Labrum: a flat rim of
fibro cartilage

 Transverse acetabular
ligament
 Acetabulum
 Unload: small diameter
region

 Load distribution
 The femoral head
 Femoral head :
convex component
 Two-third of a sphere

 Cover with cartilage

 Rydell (1965) suggested :
most load superior quadrant
 The femoral neck
 Frontal plane (the neck-to-shaft angle)

 Transverse plane (the angle of anteversion)

 Neck-to-shaft angle :
125º, vary from 90º to 135º

 Effect : lever arms

The neck shaft angle of the femur affects
the lever arm in the following ways:
 Muscle mechanical advantage: The lever arm influences the mechanical
advantage of the muscles acting on the femur. A longer lever arm allows
the muscles to generate more torque around the hip joint. If the neck shaft
angle is larger (greater inclination), the lever arm is longer, providing a
mechanical advantage for the muscles. This means that a given muscle
force can produce a greater torque around the hip joint compared to a
smaller neck shaft angle.
 Joint stability: The neck shaft angle also affects the stability of the hip
joint. A larger neck shaft angle (increased inclination) results in a longer
lever arm, which can lead to an increased risk of joint instability. This is
because the torque produced by the body weight acting on the femur may
be more likely to overcome the stabilizing forces provided by the
surrounding muscles and ligaments.
Neck-to-shaft angle & Abductor muscle force
 Angle of anteversion :
12º

 Effect : during gait

 >12º :internal rotation
 <12º :external rotation
 Femoral neck :Cancellous bone,
medial and lateral trabecular
system

 *Joint reaction force parallels

the medial trabecular system
 Joint reaction force

medial trabecular system

Frankel, 1960
 Kinematics
 Hip motion takes place in all three planes:
sagittal (flexion-extension)
frontal (abduction-adduction)
transverse (internal-external rotation)
 Kinematics
 Rang of motion : sagittal, frontal, transverse

0~140 0~15 0~30 0~25

0~90 0~70
Kinematics

Frontal
Toe-off
plane
35 to 40°

Transverse plane

One gait cycle

 Kinematics
Old man : shorter
strides
 Decrease:

Rang of hip flexion, Old man Young man

extension
Plantar flexion of
ankle
Heel-floor angle
 Kinematics
 hip flexion of at least
120°
 Abduction and
external rotation of at
least 20 °
 Surface Joint Motion
 Surface motion in the hip joint can be considered as
gliding of the femoral head on the acetabulum.

 Center of rotation:
estimated at the center of the femur head
 Kinetics
 Forces acting on the hip joint : must be understood
 Prostheses design
 Fixation devices
 Osteotomy operation
 Rehabilitation

 STATICS and DYNAMICS

 Statics
 Two-leg stance : without muscle contraction,
stabilization by joint capsule and capsular ligament
 Calculation of the joint reaction force becomes
simple
 Two-leg to single-leg stance : gravity line change

 Two methods : the simplified free-body technique

& mathematical method
 Dynamics
 Loads on the hip joint during dynamic
activities
 TO
HS
 Several factors :
a wider female pelvis
a difference in the inclination of the femoral
neck-to-shaft angle
a difference in footwear
and differences in the general pattern of gait
In vivo measurement of force:
From prosthesis

An increase in muscle
activity at the faster
cadence resulted in higher
force on the prosthesis.
Nail plate :
osteotomy or neck
fracture
 Thank you !