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A Finite Element Approach for the Modelling of Skeletal Muscle Fatigue
Author(s) -
Böl M.,
Reese S.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
gamm‐mitteilungen
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.239
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1522-2608
pISSN - 0936-7195
DOI - 10.1002/gamm.200910017
Subject(s) - finite element method , skeletal muscle , muscle contraction , structural engineering , contraction (grammar) , shock (circulatory) , muscle fatigue , skeletal muscle fibers , computer science , materials science , biological system , mechanics , physics , engineering , anatomy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , biology , electromyography , medicine , endocrinology
Skeletal muscles are the primary unit for the movement of the human body, they serve as shock absorber and protect the skeleton system against external loads. By maintaining a certain force level, muscle show fatigue effects, expressed by a decrease of the retentive force. To incorporate such effects in a finite element framework, we use a fatigue model that allows us to describe the dynamical processes between active, fatigued, and recovered fibres. The chosen modelling strategy facilitates the efficient transport of the known information about physiological processes in the single fibre to the three‐dimensional macroscopic level where e. g. the dependence of muscle contraction on fatigue effects is studied. Besides the theoretical derivation of the modelling approach, simulations at fibre as well as at muscle level have been investigated (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)