Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.
PeerJ. 2022 Jun 17;10:e13611. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13611. eCollection 2022.
Though the rabbit is a common animal model in musculoskeletal research, there are very limited data reported on healthy rabbit biomechanics. Our objective was to quantify the normative hindlimb biomechanics (kinematics and kinetics) of six New Zealand White rabbits (three male, three female) during the stance phase of gait. We measured biomechanics by synchronously recording sagittal plane motion and ground contact pressure using a video camera and pressure-sensitive mat, respectively. Both foot angle (., angle between foot and ground) and ankle angle curves were unimodal. The maximum ankle dorsiflexion angle was 66.4 ± 13.4° (mean ± standard deviation across rabbits) and occurred at 38% stance, while the maximum ankle plantarflexion angle was 137.2 ± 4.8° at toe-off (neutral ankle angle = 90 degrees). Minimum and maximum foot angles were 17.2 ± 6.3° at 10% stance and 123.3 ± 3.6° at toe-off, respectively. The maximum peak plantar pressure and plantar contact area were 21.7 ± 4.6% BW/cm and 7.4 ± 0.8 cm respectively. The maximum net vertical ground reaction force and vertical impulse, averaged across rabbits, were 44.0 ± 10.6% BW and 10.9 ± 3.7% BW∙s, respectively. Stance duration (0.40 ± 0.15 s) was statistically significantly correlated ( < 0.05) with vertical impulse (Spearman's = 0.76), minimum foot angle ( = -0.58), plantar contact length ( = 0.52), maximum foot angle ( = 0.41), and minimum foot angle ( = -0.30). Our study confirmed that rabbits exhibit a digitigrade gait pattern during locomotion. Future studies can reference our data to quantify the extent to which clinical interventions affect rabbit biomechanics.
虽然兔子是肌肉骨骼研究中常用的动物模型，但有关健康兔子生物力学的报道非常有限。我们的目的是量化 6 只新西兰白兔（3 只雄性，3 只雌性）在步态支撑阶段的后肢生物力学（运动学和动力学）。我们通过同步使用摄像机记录矢状面运动和压力敏感垫记录地面接触压力来测量生物力学。脚角（.，脚与地面之间的角度）和踝关节角度曲线均为单峰。最大踝关节背屈角度为 66.4 ± 13.4°（跨兔平均值±标准差），发生在 38%支撑期，而最大踝关节跖屈角度为 137.2 ± 4.8°在足离地（中立踝关节角度= 90 度）。最小和最大脚角分别为 10%支撑期的 17.2 ± 6.3°和足离地的 123.3 ± 3.6°。最大峰值足底压力和足底接触面积分别为 21.7 ± 4.6% BW/cm 和 7.4 ± 0.8 cm。跨兔平均最大净垂直地面反作用力和垂直冲量分别为 44.0 ± 10.6% BW 和 10.9 ± 3.7% BW∙s。支撑期（0.40 ± 0.15 s）与垂直冲量（Spearman's = 0.76）、最小脚角（= -0.58）、足底接触长度（= 0.52）、最大脚角（= 0.41）和最小脚角（= -0.30）呈统计学显著相关（<0.05）。我们的研究证实，兔子在运动时表现出趾行步态模式。未来的研究可以参考我们的数据来量化临床干预对兔子生物力学的影响程度。
