THE CRITICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE M. BICEPS FEMORIS FOR THE RISK OF INJURY — A SIMULATION STUDY

Abstract

The behavior of the M. biceps femoris with regard to its enormous vulnerability to injuries in sport remains unclear. Despite prevention programs, the rate of injuries of the hamstring muscles has risen by more than 4% in recent years. To get more insights into its function, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of different muscle insertion characteristics and activation levels using a simulation. We created a multi-segmented muscle model for evaluating the critical behavior of M. biceps femoris during a one-legged stopping maneuver. We analyzed muscle function, movement of the knee angle after initial ground contact, the simulated muscle force and the stop torques in the knee joint. The insertion geometry has an elementary effect on knee joint function and contributes to knee extension. The muscle activity plays a decisive role in elementary muscle function regarding the knee joint and in this regard the internal load of the M. biceps femoris increased without showing any visible effects on the kinematics. The anthropometry and function of this muscle needs to be taken into account to assess its effects on injury risk.