AbstractCouple stresses affect lubrication when additives are used or the lubricant contains long‐chain molecules. Such couple stresses may have a considerable effect on the behaviour of bearings in practice. The influence of couple stresses and lubricant inertia on the mechanical parameters of a curvilinear thrust bearing with a squeeze film is considered in this paper. Simulation of the squeeze‐film behaviour of a human joint modelled as a spherical bearing is discussed as an exam