Abstract

The muscle forces during the gait cycle can be as large as 1000N. Thus, the effect of muscle forces on the contact stress distribution might be significant. The dominant extrinsic plantar flexor is the gastrocnemius-soleus (G-S) muscle complex, and it likely has a considerable effect on the stress distribution of ankle joint in normal and abnormal subjects. In this study, a three-dimensional musculoskeletal FE model of the ankle joint is presented to determine the influence of gastrocnemius-soleus (G-S) muscle force on the stress distribution in tibio-talar joint in normal and arthrodesised subjects.