Upper extremity biomechanical model of crutch-assisted gait in children

A 3D biomechanical model with a novel instrumented Lofstrand crutch system is presented. The novel Lofstrand crutch system consists of two six-axis load cells incorporated in the crutch to study the reaction forces occurring at the crutch handle and the cuff. The goal of this study is to quantify the effect of the cuff forces with the help of this improved crutch system. The kinematic model developed is verified based on previous studies. The kinetic model, consisting of the forces, is derived using the kinematic data, anthropometric data and the reaction forces generated from the load cells. The kinetic data is also in accordance with previous studies. Thus, the novel crutch system has been verified for evaluating the force loading on shoulder, elbow and wrist. This model would be further implemented on children suffering from Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), which would help in evaluating injury prevention criteria for long-term crutch users.