Hip joint contact force in the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) during normal level walking.
The emu is a large, (bipedal) flightless bird that potentially can be used to study various orthopaedic disorders in which load protection of the experimental limb is a limitation of quadrupedal models. An anatomy-based analysis of normal emu walking gait was undertaken to determine hip contact forces for comparison with human data. Kinematic and kinetic data captured for two laboratory-habituated emus were used to drive the model. Muscle attachment data were obtained by dissection, and bony geometries were obtained by CT scan. Inverse dynamics calculations at all major lower-limb joints were used in conjunction with optimization of muscle forces to determine hip contact forces. Like human walking gait, emu ground reaction forces showed a bimodal distribution over the course of the stance phase. Two-bird averaged maximum hip contact force was approximately 5.5 times body weight, directed nominally axially along the femur. This value is only modestly larger than optimization-based hip contact forces reported in literature for humans. The interspecies similarity in hip contact forces makes the emu a biomechanically attractive animal in which to model loading-dependent human orthopaedic hip disorders.
Goetz
Jessica E
JE
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Derrick
Timothy R
TR
Pedersen
Douglas R
DR
Robinson
Duane A
DA
Conzemius
Michael G
MG
Baer
Thomas E
TE
Brown
Thomas D
TD
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D020312:Dromaiidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*