Title
The added value of musculoskeletal simulation for the study of physical performance in military tasks
Author
Kessels, I.
Koopman, B.
Verdonschot, N.
Marra, M.
Gijsbertse, K.
Publication year
2021
Abstract
The performance of military tasks is often exacerbated by additional load carriage, leading to increased physical demand. Previous studies showed that load carriage may lead to increased risk of developing musculoskeletal injuries, a reduction in task speed and mobility, and overall performance degradation. However, these studies were limited to a non-ambulatory setting, and the underlying causes of performance degradation remain unclear. To obtain insights into the underlying mechanisms of reduced physical performance during load-carrying military activities, this study proposes a combination of IMUs and musculoskeletal modeling. Motion data of military subjects was captured using an Xsens suit during the performance of an agility run under three different load-carrying conditions (no load, 16 kg, and 31 kg). The physical performance of one subject was assessed by means of inertial motion-capture driven musculoskeletal analysis. Our results showed that increased load carriage led to an increase in metabolic power and energy, changes in muscle parameters, a significant increase in completion time and heart rate, and changes in kinematic parameters. Despite the exploratory nature of this study, the proposed approach seems promising to obtain insight into the underlying mechanisms that result in performance degradation during load-carrying military activities. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Subject
AnyBody
Energy expenditure
Inertial sensors
Kinematics
Military
Muscle parameters
Musculoskeletal modeling
Xsens
Inertial motion captures
Kinematic parameters
Military activities
Musculo-skeletal injuries
Musculoskeletal model
Musculoskeletal simulation
Performance degradation
Physical performance
Musculoskeletal system
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d34447ac-6195-4e4c-9994-2b7aeafe070a
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s21165588
TNO identifier
958440
Source
Sensors, 21 (21)
Document type
article