Contact pressure in human body

Maram Abu-Khdair
Contact pressure
• Contact pressure is the pressure from a hard surface,
point, edge or weight on any part of the body.
• Contact forces is known to be one of primary factors
that increase the risk of cumulative trauma disorders.
• Contact pressure affect the blood circulation in that
point which lead to numbness.
• Existence of high pressure on any body part could
cause a sense of discomfort or pain under sustained
loading, which is often a limiting factor during work
and may lead to potential damage.
We will discuss the contact pressure for:
• Hand-handle tool
• Foot during gait
• Hip joint
• Knee joint
Hand-handle tools
• We want to study the contact pressure distribution at
the hand-handle interface focusing on the role of hand
forces (grip and push) and handle size.
• Contact force between the hand and a tool handle
affect the severity of exposure to the hand transmitted
vibration and hand wrist cumulative trauma disorders.
• The grasping and guiding of a tool handle yields highly
uneven distribution of forces at the hand surface,
which could vary considerably with hand and handle
sizes, push and grip forces.
Materials and methods
* a test fixture, comprising an instrumented handle and associated mounting
was designed to perform measurements of the hand-handle interface
contact force.
* three handles of circular cross section (30,40 and 48 mm) were developed to
measure the hand forces.
* the tested grip forces were 0,15,30,50 and 75 and they were measured using
an electro dynamic shaker, the tested push forces were 0,25,50 and 75 and
they were measured using a force plate. Both forces signals were
conditioned and displayed on a computer screen.
* the hand handle interface contact pressure distribution
were acquired using the EMED measurement system of
NOVEL electronics. This system consists of pressure
Sensing grid of 16 rows and 11 columns pressure sensors.
* a total of 10 male adult subjects where employed in the
study. See the following table,
* the hand surface was divided into five zones as shown in the
figure.
* the used equation for calculating the contact force Fc

Where ΔA= 0.766 cm2 is the sensor area, pi is the pressure

measure by Sensor I and n is the number of active sensors with a zone.
Results
• The mean and SD were obtained from integration of the localized pressure over the entire hand-
handle contact area.
• The results revealed linear dependence of the contact force on both grip and push forces, and
increasing contact force with smaller handle size.
• The palm is attributed to push force, while forces at the fingers are caused by gripping action.
Peak pressure
• The figure shows the variations in mean peak
pressures as a function of the push forces for
the five levels of the grip forces and the three
handle sizes.
• The increasing trend in the peak pressure
with increasing push forces could be generally
approximated as linear.
• The grip force level tends to shift the mean peak
pressure curves upward also in approximately
linear fashion.
* Sp: sustained external pressure.
* The figure shows a comparison of the mean
Peak pressures for the three handle sizes and
Three push force levels as a function of the grip
Force together with the SP value.
* Its obvious that the 48mm handle tends to
Develop the highest peak pressure for all grip/
Push combinations, while 30 and 40 mm yields
Similar values of mean peak pressure.
Contact pressure distribution
• The figure shows the variation in the mean
peak pressures within the five different contact
zones as a function of the push force for the
three grip force levels for the 48 mm handle.
• The peak pressures within zone 4 are higher
than those occurring in the other zones.
• Lower magnitude of push forces cause
relatively higher pressures within zone 1, which
decrease slightly as the push force is increased.
* PDT: pressure discomfort.
Distribution of contact force
• The figure shows (for 48 mm) that
Zone 4 contributes the most to the
total hand-handle interface force,
irrespective of the grip and push force
combination.
• The CFR of this zone increases
with increase in push force, and
decrease slightly with increase in
the hand grip force.
• CFR: ratio of contact force
developed within the zone to the
total hand-handle contact force.
• Contact force distribution for
40 mm handle.
• Contact force distribution for
30 mm handle.
Foot
• We want to study the pressure distribution during gait.
• The human foot is a complex structure which gives support during standing
and provides the required restraint and propulsion during gait.
• Several investigators have devised methods and techniques for characterizing
the vertical force distribution under the foot.
• It is generally agreed that the midfoot plays little part in transferring weight
from the hindfoot to the forefoot, and that when the load is transferred to the
forefoot there is an increase in ground reaction forces as the heel leaves the
ground and the toes make contact.
• There is a consensus that the influence of wearing shoes is to spread the load
over a wider area of the foot and for foot contact times to be increased, the
rigidity of the soles of the shoes can influence peak pressure and contact
times.
• There is a relation between peak pressure and body weight, the heavier
subjects tend to put more weight on the lateral side of the foot.
Materials and methods
* pedal pressures were taken from 21 men and 11
women, who had no history of foot problems and
no apparent disorders of gait.
* Measurements were taken from the left foot only,
both with the subject walking barefoot and when
wearing their normal shoes, each recording consisted
of six to eight consecutive steps.
* Pedal pressures were recorded using small
semiconductor strain gauge transducers.
* The transducers were placed on the posterior, medial
and lateral heel (I-3), the midfoot region (4,5), the
fifth to first metatarsal head (6-10) and the fifth to
first toe (11-15).
• The male and female data were analyzed
separately.
Results
*Data recorded, while
walking barefoot, from one
subject (FS) within a single
day and another subject
(MH) within a six month
period, as in the following
figure.
*For each subject there was
no difference, in
pressures at the various
sites between one recording
session and another, either
on the same day or within the
six month period.
*** relation between the peak pressure and body weight.
The correlations between body weight and peak pressure, measured at
each transducer site, are presented in the following table.

It can be seen that for both men and women there is a suggestion that
pressures on the lateral side of the foot increase with increasing
weight.
* Patterns of pedal pressures under the foot
are similar for both men and women, walking
barefoot or wearing shoes; there are however
differences between the barefoot and shod
conditions.
• The effect of wearing shoes is to lower
Significantly pressures under the posterior
heel from 780 and 850 kPa to 500 and 530 kPa
in men and women respectively, and to
increase significantly pressure under the
lateral heel from 400 to 480 kPa in men,
there are also some lateral midfoot changes.
* The contact times at each transducer location,
as a percentage of total foot contact time, are
shown in the figure.
* Percentage contact times are similar for both
men and women walking barefoot, there are no
significant differences for any part of the
Foot.
* These contact times generally increase when
wearing shoes.
Hip joint
• We want to study a three dimensional dynamic hip
contact area and pressure distribution during activities
of daily living.
• Abnormal mechanical stress on joint cartilage is one of
the main causes of osteoarthritis.
• Knowing the contact pressure distribution on the hip
joint helps to understand the mechanics of the normal
hip and pathology of the articular cartilage during
abnormal loading.
Materials and methods
• Computer simulation (Discrete element analysis) technique used to
provide information about contact pressure; its non-invasive, cost
effective and repeatable.
• An original three-dimensional surface was generated based on the
assumption that the contact surface between pelvis and femur is
spherical and articulation between the femoral head and acetabulum is
concentric.
• They used a graphic based simulation software to visualize the contact
area and contact pressure during activities of daily living.
• The test was performed for eight activities of daily living: fast walking,
normal walking, slow walking, standing up, sitting down, knee bending,
climbing up stairs, and walking down stairs.
• The average joint force was took for four patients during various data
living activities
• to describe the location of
the pressure result, we defined
four sections at the
acetabulum anatomic regions.
Table of results
Results
*** Walking activities (normal, fast, slow walking)
*** Standing up from a chair, sitting down on a
chair, and knee bending
*** Climbing up stairs and walking down stairs
Knee joint
• To clarify the function of the menisci in detail
and examine the load transmitting pattern of the
tibiofemoral joints in normal and osteoarthritis
knees.
Materials and methods
• Seven freshly amputated knees were used, The specimens were
frozen at -2O°C and they were thawed gradually at room
temperature when used. Age distribution was from 41-80 years.
• The specimens were cut about 10 cm above and below the joint line.
The patellae and muscles were removed, but the ligaments and
capsules were left intact until the specimen was in place on the
shown device.
• The device which has three linked joints can provide 0°, 30°, 60°
and 90° of flexion, and the required varusvalgus angulations and
rotation of the knee.
• In this study the knee specimens were tested at 0° flexion. The tibia
stood perpendicular to the floor and physiological valgus and
internal rotation of the femur were chosen.
*To measure the pressure distribution
patterns they used very thin, flexible and
sensitive sensor sheets, With momentary
load, the microcapsules contained in the
films broke. The dye stuffs of the capsules
coming into contact with the color
development materials caused a red color
to appear. By measuring the density of the
redness using a densiometer, the values of
the pressures could be obtained within an
error of 10 per cent.
* To measure the contact areas of the tibiofemoral joints
the casting method was employed using a silicone rubber.
*For knees nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, the castings
were taken before and after the removal of
the menisci under loads of 200N, 500N and
1000N. For knee no. 1 the castings were taken
only after removal of the menisci.
• Casting with (left raw) and without (right raw) menisci.
Results
*** Contact area before and after the
removal of the menisci.

The contact area increased as the load

increased, but the increasing curve was
convex and the rate of enlargement of the
contact area gradually reduced.
the following table shows:
The contact area of the knee joint before the removal of the menisci was more
than twice as large as that after the removal of the menisci.
*** Contact area on the menisci and that on
the unloaded part of the cartilage.

Under low load, the contact was substantially

on the menisci alone. So it can be said that the
menisci play an important role in widening
the tibiofemoral contact area.
*** Contact area of the degenerated knees compared with the normal
knees.
The former had larger contact areas than the latter both before and after the
removal of the menisci.
• Pressure distribution patterns
At lOOON load the peak pressures of the medial and
lateral sides of the knees were about 2-3 MPa, and at
1500N load they reached about 3-4 MPa.
References
• Contact pressure distribution at hand–handle interface: role of hand
forces and handle size.
Y. ALDIENA, D. WELCOMEB, S. RAKHEJAA,, R. DONGB, P.-E.
BOILEAUC

• Three-dimensional dynamic hip contact area and pressure distribution

during activities of daily living.
H. YOSHIDAA, A. FAUSTA, J. WILCKENSA, M. KITAGAWAA, J.
FETTOB, EDMUND Y.-S. CHAOA

• The contact area and pressure distribution pattern of the knee.

TORU FUKUBAYASHI & HISASHI KUROSAWA

• Foot pressure patterns during gait .