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A dynamic model of the forearm including fatigue
1Department of Physiology, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Musculoskeletal Research Unit, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, 00250, Helsinki, Finland. jouni.freund@occuphealth.fi
Abstract:
A biomechanical model of the forearm, consisting of 61 muscle-tendon systems or tendons and 8 sections, is presented. The model can be used to calculate the muscle forces when resultant of the external forces and the motion is known. Calculations are based on constraints of muscle forces, joint forces, contact forces, and tendon junctions, and a load sharing principle telling which of the feasible solutions are likely and which are not. Fatigue is accounted for by updating the upper limits of the muscle forces according to the loading history. As an example, the model is used to predict the load sharing between the fingers when they are pressed against a table with a given total force.