Passive resistive torques about long bone axes of major human joints

Multisegmented total-human-body models play an important role in studies such as vehicle crash victim simulation, pilot ejection and flailing. Proper biomechanical description of the major articulating joints of these mathematical models require passive resistive torque data for the rotational motions of the body segments about their long bone axes. This paper presents a research program which was developed to collect such data at the shoulder, hip, knee, elbow, and ankle joints. The research was conducted, with some obvious limitations, on live human subjects by means of specially designed experimental apparatus. The numerical results are presented for three subjects for the passive resistive torques about the long bone axes of the major articulating joints. It was concluded that the maximum tolerable passive resistive torques associated with the long bones of the lower extremities are more than twice the ones associated with the long bones of the upper extre mities.