Ten steps to becoming a musculoskeletal simulation expert: A half-century of progress and outlook for the future
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Updated: Jul 29, 2025

Subject-specific Musculoskeletal Model for Studying Bone Strain During Dynamic Motion
Published on: April 11, 2018
Scott D Uhlrich1, Thomas K Uchida2, Marissa R Lee3
1Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, 318 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Abstract:
Over the past half-century, musculoskeletal simulations have deepened our knowledge of human and animal movement. This article outlines ten steps to becoming a musculoskeletal simulation expert so you can contribute to the next half-century of technical innovation and scientific discovery. We advocate looking to the past, present, and future to harness the power of simulations that seek to understand and improve mobility. Instead of presenting a comprehensive literature review, we articulate a set of ideas intended to help researchers use simulations effectively and responsibly by understanding the work on which today's musculoskeletal simulations are built, following established modeling and simulation principles, and branching out in new directions.

