Access Type

Open Access Thesis

Date of Award

January 2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Biomedical Engineering

First Advisor

Edward P. Washabaugh

Abstract

Arthritis is a leading cause of activity limitation and chronic pain worldwide. Particularly in cases of knee osteoarthritis, mobility impairments are largely due to pain at the arthritic joint. During normal gait, forces across the knee joint peak during the weight acceptance and early midstance phases. Hence, providing damping at the knee joint during this period of the gait cycle may be effective in decreasing the joint forces and pain experienced by osteoarthritis patients while walking. To examine the role of knee damping in reducing joint forces, an eddy current braking device was automated to provide targeted resistance at the knee joint. Ten healthy subjects participated in an experiment where four levels of damping were applied at the knee joint during the weight acceptance and early midstance phases of the gait cycle. Subjects walked on an instrumented treadmill in a motion capture area while wearing electromyography (EMG) sensors on key knee flexor and extensor muscles. Inverse kinematics and dynamics were run to obtain the joint angles and forces that characterized subject motion. These parameters were used to complete static optimization and simulate knee joint reaction force in OpenSim. Results did not show a significant difference in ground reaction force or simulated joint reaction force with the application of damping at the knee joint. However, experimental EMG data demonstrated significant decreases in the activation of certain knee flexor and extensor muscles with the addition of knee joint damping. This was most notable for the vastus lateralis and medialis muscles. These findings indicate there may be benefits of resistive torque in offloading the knee joint that warrant further examination.

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