Lyapunov functions and the basin of attraction for a single-joint muscle-skeletal model

This paper provides an explicit Lyapunov function for a general single-joint muscle-skeletal model. Using this Lyapunov function one can determine analytically large subsets of the basin of attraction of an asymptotically stable equilibrium. Besides providing an analytical tool for the analysis of such a system we consider an elbow model and show that the theoretical predictions are in agreement with experimental results. Moreover, we can thus distinguish between regions where the self-stabilizing properties of the muscle-skeletal system guarantee stability and regions where nerval control and reflexes are necessary.