A Finite Element Analysis of foot with hammer toe deformity during walking

Abstract

A three-dimensional finite element model of a diabetic neuropathic foot with hammer toe deformity was constructed. The geometry of the FE model was formed based on segmentation and reconstruction of MRI images. A multi-body musculoskeletal simulation based on 3D gait analysis was carried out for predicting six muscle forces. Validation of the derived muscle forces were performed using EMG. FE simulations were run at five stages of stance phase of gait. The derived muscle forces and measured GRFs during gait were added to the model as boundary conditions. The validation of FE results indicated a good agreement between simulated plantar pressures (PP) against the measured values from pressure plate. The analyses showed that the presence of hammer toe causes stress concentration on metatarsals. However, the stress concentration seems to shift from the 5th metatarsal to the 3rd metatarsal as the gait progresses from early stance to toe-off.