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Dynamic considerations of heel-strike impact in human gait

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Abstract

Based on the impulsive-dynamics formulation, this article presents the analysis of different strategies to regulate the energy dissipation at the heel-strike event in the context of human locomotion. For this purpose, a seven-link 2D human-like multibody model based on anthropometric data is used. The model captures the most relevant dynamic and energetic aspects of the heel-strike event in the sagittal plane. The pre-impact mechanical state of the system, around which the analysis of the heel impact contribution to energy dissipation is performed, is defined based on published data. In the context of the proposed impulsive-dynamics framework, different realistic strategies that the subject can apply to modify the impact dynamics are proposed and analyzed, namely, the trailing ankle push-off, the torso configuration and the degree of joint blocking in the colliding leg. Detailed numerical analysis and discussions are presented to quantify the effects of the mentioned strategies.

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Notes

  1. Time integral of the constraint forces during the impact.

  2. The sensitivity to the trailing leg velocities found at the impulsive event is very small.

  3. For scleronomic constraints, b +=0.

  4. The presence of this unilateral constraint implies a “complementarity problem”. We deal with this via looking for two different solutions, one “with” and the other “without” this constraint enforced. Then, we choose the physically meaningful one for which \(\mathbf {v}(\mathit{MH}^{L}) \cdot \mathbf {e}_{y} =0 \mbox{ and } \bar{\lambda} > 0\) or \(\mathbf {v}(\mathit{MH}^{L}) \cdot \mathbf {e}_{y} > 0 \mbox{ and } \bar{\lambda}=0\) must be satisfied.

  5. Note that, after the heel strike event, the whole foot will eventually collide with the ground, and then the rotating energy will get mostly dissipated. This second collision mechanism is not analyzed in this work.

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Acknowledgements

Javier Ros gratefully acknowledges the support received from the Spanish Ministry of Education under the “Salvador de Madariaga” fellowship #PR2009-0259 and from McGill University to enjoy a sabbatical research stay.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Public University of Navarre, Campus de Arrosadia, 31006, Pamplona, Navarre, Spain

    Javier Ros & Aitor Plaza

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering Research Centre, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Diagonal 647, 08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Josep M. Font-Llagunes

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Centre for Intelligent Machines, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke St. West, H3A 2K6, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    József Kövecses

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  1. Javier Ros
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  2. Josep M. Font-Llagunes
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  4. József Kövecses
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Correspondence to Javier Ros.

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Ros, J., Font-Llagunes, J.M., Plaza, A. et al. Dynamic considerations of heel-strike impact in human gait. Multibody Syst Dyn 35, 215–232 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11044-015-9460-0

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