The Stress-Strain Data of the Hip Capsule Ligaments Are Gender and Side Independent Suggesting a Smaller Contribution to Passive Stiffness.
BACKGROUND
The ligaments in coherence with the capsule of the hip joint are known to contribute to hip stability. Nevertheless, the contribution of the mechanical properties of the ligaments and gender- or side-specific differences are still not completely clear. To date, comparisons of the hip capsule ligaments to other tissues stabilizing the pelvis and hip joint, e.g. the iliotibial tract, were not performed.


METHODS
Hip capsule ligaments were obtained from 17 human cadavers (9 females, 7 males, 13 left and 8 right sides, mean age 83.65 ± 10.54 years). 18 iliofemoral, 9 ischiofemoral and 17 pubofemoral ligaments were prepared. Uniaxial stress-strain properties were obtained from the load-deformation curves before the secant elastic modulus was computed. Strain, elastic modulus and cross sections were compared.


RESULTS
Strain and elastic modulus revealed no significant differences between the iliofemoral (strain 129.8 ± 11.1%, elastic modulus 48.8 ± 21.4 N/mm2), ischiofemoral (strain 128.7 ± 13.7%, elastic modulus 37.5 ± 20.4 N/mm2) and pubofemoral (strain 133.2 ± 23.7%, elastic modulus 49.0 ± 32.1 N/mm2) ligaments. The iliofemoral ligament (53.5 ± 15.1 mm2) yielded a significantly higher cross section compared to the ischiofemoral (19.2 ± 13.2 mm2) and pubofemoral (15.2 ± 7.2 mm2) ligament. No significant gender- or side-specific differences were determined. A comparison to the published data on the iliotibial tract revealed lower elasticity and less variation in the ligaments of the hip joint.


CONCLUSIONS
Comparison of the mechanical data of the hip joint ligaments indicates that their role may likely exceed a function as a mechanical stabilizer. Uniaxial testing of interwoven collagen fibers might lead to a misinterpretation of the mechanical properties of the hip capsule ligaments in the given setup, concealing its uniaxial properties. This underlines the need for a polyaxial test setup using fresh and non-embalmed tissues.
Department of Orthopedics, Trauma and Plastic Surgery, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
Philipp
P
Pieroh
Department of Orthopedics, Trauma and Plastic Surgery, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Sebastian
S
Schneider
Department of Orthopedics, Trauma and Plastic Surgery, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Uwe
U
Lingslebe
Institute of Sport Science, Department of Human Locomotion, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany.
Freddy
F
Sichting
Institute of Anatomy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Thomas
T
Wolfskämpf
Department of Orthopedics, Trauma and Plastic Surgery, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Christoph
C
Josten
Department of Orthopedics, Trauma and Plastic Surgery, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Jörg
J
Böhme
Institute of Anatomy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Niels
N
Hammer
Institute of Anatomy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Hanno
H
Steinke
Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2013;16(6):669-77
22149414
J Arthroplasty. 2000 Feb;15(2):194-9
10708085
Radiology. 2012 Apr;263(1):189-98
22371607
J Biomech. 2006;39(5):931-8
16488231
Am J Sports Med. 2011 Jul;39 Suppl:85S-91S
21709037
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2012 Dec;470(12):3306-12
22810156
Biomed Sci Instrum. 1996;32:119-25
8672658
Connect Tissue Res. 1979;7(1):21-7
158483
J Orthop Res. 2011 Nov;29(11):1642-8
21495065
Arthrosc Tech. 2013 Mar 17;2(2):e89-94
23875156
Clin Anat. 2016 May;29(4):424-5
26679099
Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). 1997 Jul;12(5):273-280
11415734
Surg Radiol Anat. 2004 Dec;26(6):433-46
15378277
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2009 Apr;467(4):940-5
18813893
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2001 Dec;(393):163-7
11764346
Instr Course Lect. 2006;55:309-16
16958466
J Arthroplasty. 2007 Jun;22(4):596-600
17562419
Clin Anat. 2014 Apr;27(3):489-97
24293171
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1982 Jul;(167):118-22
7094452
Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2014 Apr;22(4):902-5
23851921
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2006 Jun;447:34-8
16741471
J Orthop Res. 1999 Sep;17(5):769-76
10569490
Acta Orthop Scand. 1990 Jun;61(3):231-5
2371816
Am J Anat. 1991 Sep;192(1):1-13
1750378
Arthroscopy. 2012 Mar;28(3):440-5
22301357
J Biomech. 2002 Nov;35(11):1491-8
12413968
Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2016 Jun;24(6):2009-15
25218574
Anat Sci Int. 2012 Mar;87(1):50-5
22006046
Clin Sports Med. 2006 Apr;25(2):309-26, ix-x
16638494
Clin Anat. 2015 Nov;28(8):994-1001
26378610
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1983 Mar;(173):20-6
6825333
J Biomech. 2014 Aug 22;47(11):2660-5
24938930
Anat Sci Educ. 2012 Jul-Aug;5(4):225-33
22434588
J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2001;83-A Suppl 2(Pt 1):2-7
11685838
J Arthroplasty. 2002 Jan;17(1):82-9
11805930
Z Orthop Unfall. 2014 Apr;152(2):130-43
24760453
Acta Orthop Scand. 1966;37(2):141-55
5911489
Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 1999 Jan;7(1):130-40
10367021
Arthroscopy. 2013 Jan;29(1):162-73
22901333
Acta Orthop Scand. 1976 Oct;47(5):473-9
998180
Med Eng Phys. 2012 Nov;34(9):1221-7
22297087
J Orthop Res. 2001 May;19(3):359-64
11398846
J Biomech. 1968 Jul;1(2):65-71
16329293
Int Orthop. 2010 Jun;34(5):641-7
20091307
J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2012 Dec;16:81-6
23178479
J Anat. 2014 Mar;224(3):316-44
24438435
J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2014 May;33:93-8
23676503
J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2015 Sep;49:112-7
26005842
J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1969 Nov;51(4):632-7
5371967
J Anat. 2012 Dec;221(6):537-67
22994881
J Orthop Res. 1985;3(3):292-300
4032102
Iowa Orthop J. 2004;24:1-8
15296198
J Biomech. 2014 Apr 11;47(6):1506-9
24589021
J Arthroplasty. 1998 Dec;13(8):860-6
9880176
Arthroscopy. 2008 Feb;24(2):188-95
18237703
Arthroscopy. 2014 Oct;30(10):1235-45
25064755