An Enhanced Spine Model Validated for Simulating Dynamic Lifting Tasks in OpenSim

A fully articulated thoracolumbar spine model had been previously developed in OpenSim and had been extensively validated against experimental data during various static tasks. In the present study, we enhanced this detailed musculoskeletal model by adding the role of passive structures and adding kinematic constraints to make it suitable for dynamic tasks. We validated the spinal forces estimated by this enhanced model during nine dynamic lifting/lowering tasks. Moreover, we recently developed and evaluated five approaches in OpenSim to model the external loads applied to the hands during lifting/lowering tasks, and in the present study, we assessed which approach results in more accurate spinal forces. Regardless of the external load modeling approach, the maximum forces predicted by our enhanced spine model across all tasks, as well as the pattern of estimated spinal forces within each task, showed strong correlations (r-values and cross-correlation coefficients > 0.9) with experimental data. Given the biofidelity of our enhanced model, its accessibility via the open-source OpenSim software, and the extent to which this model has been validated, we recommend it for applications requiring estimation of spinal forces during lifting/lowering tasks using multibody-based models and inverse dynamic analyses.