Measuring muscle and joint geometry parameters of a shoulder for modeling purposes

An extensive set of muscle and joint geometry parameters was measured of the right shoulder of an embalmed male. For all muscles the optimal muscle fiber length was determined by laser diffraction measurements of sarcomere length. In addition, tendon length and physiological cross-sectional area were determined. The parameter set was needed to enhance the reliability of a computer model of the shoulder (Van der Helm, 1994a and Van der Helm, 1994b Journal of Biomechanics 27, 527–550, 551–569). With the model, an abduction of the arm was simulated in seven positions, at 30° intervals. In each of the simulated arm positions, actual sarcomere lengths were calculated from the lengths of 104 muscle elements, distributed over 16 shoulder muscles. For most muscle elements, the simulated abduction appeared to take place within the sarcomere length range in which the muscle elements can exert force. The muscle elements can then act on the ascending limb as well as on the plateau and on the descending limb of the relative force–length curves of sarcomeres. The produced data set is not only important for the refinement of shoulder modeling, but also for functional analyses of shoulder movements in general.