Abstract
1508 In the analysis of joint dynamics often the motion of each segment is considered independent of the motion of its adjacent segment. What this approach fails to explicitly investigate is how the motion and more specifically the acceleration of the proximal segment are related to the accelerations of the distal segment. A term that reveals the effect of the motion of the proximal segment on the distal is called the Coriolis acceleration. Usually, the Coriolis acceleration is applied to humans only during full body rotation such as is the case with pilots in high-speed turns and participants in servo-electric chairs. Mathematically, the Coriolis acceleration is determined by taking the cross product of the angular velocity of the proximal segment and the velocity of the mass center of the distal segment, relative to the proximal segment. Since the Coriolis acceleration and therefore its corresponding force can act to either compress or distend the common joint, its consideration should help to explain mechanisms of injury. Isolating the Coriolis acceleration requires a partitioning of the accelerations that has yet to be noted in the literature. Specifically, the total acceleration of the mass center of the lower leg would be equal to the sum of terms involving the: linear acceleration of the hip, angular acceleration of the thigh, acceleration lower leg as a result of the thigh (Coriolis acceleration), and the relative acceleration of the lower leg with respect to the thigh (centripetal and tangential accelerations of the lower leg). While the total acceleration of the mass center is independent of the method of calculation, partitioning to include the Coriolis acceleration should enhance the understanding of the given motion and mechanisms of injury.
Published Version
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