Effects of weight gaining to lower limb joint moments: a gender-specific sit-to-stand analysis

Kasim Serbest

doi:10.1515/bmt-2022-0085

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity, a worldwide health problem, is increasing. Obesity or overweight has significant effects, especially on lower limb biomechanics. Previous studies have investigated the biomechanical effects of weight gain on the knee and hip joints. These studies have been conducted on different individuals with normal weight and overweight. However, no investigation has been carried out between women and men in terms of weight gain. Females usually gain weight in the gluteal-femoral region, whereas males gain weight in the abdominal region. Due to this difference, it is thought that the effects of weight gain should be examined in a gender-specific manner. In this study, a link-segment model of the lower limb was created. Then the sit-to-stand movement was simulated according to female and male-specific weight gain scenarios. According to these results, weight gain in the abdominal region (men-specific) increases the ankle and knee joint moments more than weight gain in the gluteal-femoral region (women-specific). In obese scenarios for males and females, while the ankle and knee joint moment increases, the hip joint moment decreases. These results would be beneficial for considering biomechanical differences caused by gender-specific weight gain in rehabilitation processes and orthotic and prosthetic designs.

Keywords: inverse dynamic simulation; joint biomechanics; obesity; overweight

Corresponding author: Kasim Serbest, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, 54187 Serdivan, Sakarya, Turkey, Phone: +90 264 616 0305, fax: +90 264 295 6424, E-mail: kserbest@subu.edu.tr

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Cilli for his contributions from Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Sport Sciences.

Research funding: None declared.
Author contributions: The author has accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: Author states no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Ethical approval: The local Institutional Review Board deemed the study exempt from review.

Appendix

A.1 Moment of inertia equations

A.1.1 Foot

I x x = 0.00041 m tot [ h m 2 + w f 2 ] − 0.0008

I y y = 0.00021 m tot [ 4 h m 2 + 3 l f 2 ] + 0.00067

I z z = 0.00023 m tot [ 4 h m 2 + 3 l f 2 ] + 0.00022

A.1.2 Calf

I x x = 0.00041 m tot c l 2 + 0.00012

I y y = 0.00387 m tot [ l l 2 + 0.076 c l 2 ] + 0.00138

I z z = 0.00347 m tot [ l l 2 + 0.076 c l 2 ] + 0.00511

A.1.3 Thigh

I x x = 0.00151 m tot c t 2 + 0.00305

I y y = 0.00762 m tot [ l t 2 + 0.076 c t 2 ] + 0.01186

I z z = 0.00762 m tot [ l t 2 + 0.076 c t 2 ] + 0.01153

A.1.4 Torso

I x x = ( 284.493 m tot − 7664.88 ) / 10 7

I y y = ( 102.507 m tot − 2895.524 ) 10 7

I z z = ( 296.6 m tot − 3156.034 ) / 10 7

m _tot: Total body mass [kg], h _m: malleolus height [m], w _f: foot width [m], l _f: foot length [m], c _l: calf circumference [m], l _l: calf length [m], c _t: thigh circumference [m], l _t: thigh length [m].

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/bmt-2022-0085).

Received: 2022-02-25

Accepted: 2022-08-02

Published Online: 2022-08-19

Published in Print: 2022-12-16

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