Modélisation musculosquelettique en vue d’une analyse de la démarche symétrique et asymétrique

Abstract

Introduction: The analysis of human locomotion is a field in which much research is conducted to understand the mechanisms of walking. However, the analysis of walking in both symmetric and asymmetric conditions is less common, especially for an analysis of kinetic parameters in these conditions. Objectives: 1) Use and customize a model to estimate knee contact forces during walking in both symmetric and asymmetric conditions. 2) Simulate the effects of walking asymmetry on healthy subjects. 3) Quantify the asymmetry of knee contact forces and ground reaction forces with a symmetry index. 4) Compare the evolution of the indices. Methodology: To employ the musculoskeletal model TLEM (Twente Lower Extremity Model) version 2 developed by Carbone et al. and the Anybody Modeling System to pilot and scale it using kinematic data from the study on the asymmetry of the two-belt treadmill speed on the locomotion biomechanics in healthy humans conducted by P. Gourdou. Results: The results showed that symmetric behavior varies for each subject and occurs randomly under different walking conditions applied. Therefore, no significant correlation was demonstrated between bilateral evolution of knee contact forces and gait asymmetry rate. Furthermore, no common linear regression model for subjects was found. Discussion: The results thus showed a very specific and individual behavior for each subject. This particularity can be justified by numerous parameters, starting with the fact that each person has muscle activations unique to their way of walking. It will therefore be interesting to add electromyography (EMG) to this analysis. Additionally, kinematic parameters such as ankle and knee joint angles would be relevant as they play a major role in the evolution of joint contact forces.

Date	18 Mar 2024
Original language	French
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Rachid Aissaoui (Supervisor)