Rabbit hindlimb kinematics and ground contact kinetics during the stance phase of gait

Though the rabbit is a common animal model in musculoskeletal research, there are very limited data reported on healthy rabbit biomechanics. Our objective was to quantify the normative hindlimb biomechanics (kinematics and kinetics) of six New Zealand White rabbits (three male, three female) during the stance phase of gait. We measured biomechanics by synchronously recording sagittal plane motion and ground contact pressure using a video camera and pressure-sensitive mat, respectively. Both foot angle (i.e., angle between foot and ground) and ankle angle curves were unimodal. The maximum ankle dorsiflexion angle was 66.4 ± 13.4° (mean ± standard deviation across rabbits) and occurred at 38% stance, while the maximum ankle plantarflexion angle was 137.2 ± 4.8° at toe-off (neutral ankle angle = 90 degrees). Minimum and maximum foot angles were 17.2 ± 6.3° at 10% stance and 123.3 ± 3.6° at toe-off, respectively. The maximum peak plantar pressure and plantar contact area were 21.7 ± 4.6% BW/cm² and 7.4 ± 0.8 cm² respectively. The maximum net vertical ground reaction force and vertical impulse, averaged across rabbits, were 44.0 ± 10.6% BW and 10.9 ± 3.7% BW∙s, respectively. Stance duration (0.40 ± 0.15 s) was statistically significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with vertical impulse (Spearman's ρ = 0.76), minimum foot angle (ρ = -0.58), plantar contact length (ρ = 0.52), maximum foot angle (ρ = 0.41), and minimum foot angle (ρ = -0.30). Our study confirmed that rabbits exhibit a digitigrade gait pattern during locomotion. Future studies can reference our data to quantify the extent to which clinical interventions affect rabbit biomechanics.