Three-dimensional dynamic hip contact area and pressure distribution during activities of daily living

Estimation of the hip joint contact area and pressure distribution during activities of daily living is important in predicting joint degeneration mechanism, prosthetic implant wear, providing biomechanical rationales for preoperative planning and postoperative rehabilitation. These biomechanical data were estimated utilizing a generic hip model, the Discrete Element Analysis technique, and the in vivo hip joint contact force data. The three-dimensional joint potential contact area was obtained from the anteroposterior radiograph of a subject and the actual joint contact area and pressure distribution in eight activities of daily living were calculated. During fast, normal, and slow walking, the peak pressure of moderate magnitude was located at the lateral roof of the acetabulum during mid-stance. In standing up and sitting down, and during knee bending, the peak pressures were located at the edge of the posterior horn and the magnitude of the peak pressure during sitting down was 2.8 times that of normal walking. The peak pressure was found at the lateral roof in climbing up stairs which was higher than that in going down stairs. These results can be used to rationalize rehabilitation protocols, functional restrictions after complex acetabular reconstructions, and prosthetic component wear and fatigue test set up. The same model and analysis can provide further insight to soft tissue loading and pathology such as labral injury. When the pressure distribution on the acetabulum is inverted onto the femoral head, prediction of subchondral bone collapse associated with avascular necrosis can be achieved with improved accuracy.