Systematic ReviewJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2025

A PRISMA systematic review through time on predictive musculoskeletal simulations.

Menthy Denayer, Eligia Alfio, María Alejandra Díaz and 4 others

PMID 40615923

WHAT IT FOUND

Predictive lower-limb simulations can model walking, prostheses and disease, but validation and personalization are limited, so they are not ready to guide patient care.

Key findings

01The review included 114 papers describing predictive musculoskeletal simulations.

02Walking was the most common simulated movement, appearing in 72% of papers.

0381% of papers compared simulations to experimental data, but only 50% of papers performing validation computed quantitative metrics.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they found

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What it does not show

The review covers computer models, not patients, so it cannot tell whether a simulation changes a treatment plan. Validation was often qualitative, and many included papers did not compute error metrics. Models were mostly adult and often simplified, with limited personalization. Most included papers focused on walking, so findings may not transfer to other movements. The review did not test clinical outcomes or compare treatments in patients.

The easy way to misread this

Do not treat these simulation results as evidence that a device or intervention works. The paper reviews modelling methods and validation, not patient outcomes.

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The study

Participants
114 papers
Certainty of evidence
Moderate

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    Cite

    Menthy Denayer, Eligia Alfio, María Alejandra Díaz, et al. A PRISMA systematic review through time on predictive musculoskeletal simulations. Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation. 2025.

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