Musculoskeletal Modeling and Movement Simulation for Structural Hip Disorder Research: A Scoping Review of Methods and Applications

Musculoskeletal modeling is a powerful tool to quantify biomechanical factors typically not feasible to measure in vivo, such as hip contact forces and deep muscle activations. The purposes of this review were to summarize current modeling and simulation methods in structural hip disorder research and evaluate model validation practices and study reproducibility. MEDLINE and Web of Science were searched to identify literature relating to the use of musculoskeletal models to investigate structural hip disorders (i.e., involving a bony abnormality of the pelvis, femur, or both). Forty-seven articles were included for analysis. Studies either compared multiple modeling methods or applied a single modeling workflow to answer a research question. Overall, differences in outputs were shown between generic models scaled to participants’ anthropometrics and models with additional patient-specific geometry; however, generic models were most commonly used in application studies. The 11 studies that assessed model validation used qualitative approaches only. There was also wide variability and under-reporting of data collection, data processing, and modeling methods. Common assumptions made in musculoskeletal modeling during the model development, validation, and movement simulations were identified that are important to consider when evaluating the clinical applicability of modeling predictions in patients with structural hip disorders. Differences between generic and patient-specific model outputs exist; however, whether the patient-specific models are more accurate is still unknown. Increased transparency in reporting of data collection, signal processing, and modeling methods is needed to increase study reproducibility and allow for better assessment of modeling results.