Stress distribution on the femoral neck at different abduction angles of the hip joint: a finite element analysis

Objective To analyze the stress distribution and its changes of the femoral neck at different abduction angles of the hip joint to provide biomechanical evidence for the treatment of hip joint disease. Methods A three-dimensional finite element model of the femoral head region was reconstructed on the basis of data available in the dataset of No.1 Virtual Male Chinese. Different abduction angles of the hip joint were simulated under the load of body weight, and the stress distribution on the femoral neck was calculated and compared. Results With different abduction angles of the hip joint, the stresses on the medial and lateral sides of the femoral neck were obviously greater than those on the anterior and posterior regions. As the abduction angle of the hip joint increased, the stress on the posterior aspect of the femoral neck decreased while that in other regions increased (except for the anterior aspect of the femoral neck which remained unchanged). Conclusion The lateral aspect of the femoral neck withstands the most intense stress of the body weight, which increases with the abduction angle of the hip joint.