Abstract:
This study presents a detailed finite element (FE) model of the human knee joint developed to investigate how obesity affects articular cartilage stress during walking. By integrating MRI-based anatomical reconstruction, ligament and cartilage modeling, and in vivo gait kinematics from obese and normal-weight individuals, the researchers simulated joint loading at multiple stance phases. The FE model incorporates anatomical accuracy with physiologically realistic material properties and boundary conditions to simulate ligament constraints, bone rigidity, and contact mechanics. Analyses showed that obese individuals experience higher overall contact pressures, particularly in the medial tibial cartilage during early stance. However, contrary to initial hypotheses, the distribution patterns of cartilage stress were remarkably similar between groups, suggesting that compensatory gait adaptations in obese individuals may mitigate some effects of increased body weight. Despite this, the elevated absolute stress values in the obese group suggest increased risk for cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis. This biomechanics-centered investigation provides important insight into mechanical risk factors related to obesity and informs clinical strategies for joint preservation.
