MATHEMATICAL MODEL SUGGESTED FOR THE STUDY OF THE KNEE MECHANICS

Knowing the operated the knee biomechanical behavior is important during the life of the endoprosthesis,lifestyle changes and medical rehabilitation. One of the main causes of failure of a primary total prosthetic knee joint isthe instability. From the moment of its implantation, the endoprosthesis is subjected to external forces, which tend todestabilize it, while the muscles and pericapsulare ligaments oppose it. Theoretically there is a relationship between theexternal disturbing force, respectively ligament tension and the knee frontal plane deviation. The purpose of this paperis to test several mathematical models describing the biomechanical behavior of knee ligaments in relation todeviation. On a group of 39 patients we measured the torque of the joint capsule in relation to the deviation using apressure sensor tensor and a torque screwdriver, and we analyzed these data using a statistical program. We havedemonstrated the existence of this relationship as a function of degree 2 and we made predictions based on itcalculating ligament torque and ligament stiffness at 0 and 5 degrees of deviation. The conclusion of this study showsthat there is a strong relationship between ligament torque and deviation knee, which can be described mathematically.This model can be used to study the knee operated and improve the prosthetic devices.