...BIOMECHANICS The term biomechanics means the study of the structure and function of biological systems using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics studies the process of kinematics and used in the study of sports actions, such as the motion of throwing a baseball. Why do some golfers slice the ball? How can workers avoid developing low back pain? What cues can a physical education teacher provide to help students learn the underhand volleyball serve? Why do some elderly individuals tend to fall? We have all admired the fluid, graceful movements of highly skilled performers in various sports. We have also observed the awkward first steps of a young child, the slow progress of an injured person with a walking cast, and the hesitant, uneven gait of an elderly person using a cane. Virtually every activity class includes a student who seems to acquire new skills with utmost ease and a student who trips when executing a jump or misses the ball when attempting to catch, strike, or serve. What enables some individuals to execute complex movements so easily, while others appear to have difficulty with relatively simple movement skills? Although the answers to these questions may be rooted in physiological, psychological, or sociological issues, the problems identified are all biomechanical in nature. This book will provide a foundation for identifying, analyzing, and solving problems related to the biomechanics of human movement. Definition of Biomechanics The term biomechanics combines...
Words: 7545 - Pages: 31
...Biomechanics of Gymnastics Biomechanics is the application of mechanical analysis to study body movements, this allows for research and developments into everyday activities. Often time biomechanics is used to study different sports and the movements that an athlete would complete in relation to that sport. One sport that there was a desire to do biomechanical research was Gymnastics. Gymnastics is a sport that incorporates full body movements, to better understand the body movements’ biomechanical studies are used. These studies allow for research to be done into how the body moves for a specific movement, then the movement can be optimized being able to improve a gymnasts skills. Also these biomechanical analyses can help understand the forces and loads that the gymnast’s body is enduring; this can lead to finding ways to reduce these loads and forces in hopes to prevent and injury. Gymnastics is complex a sport that incorporates physical agility, coordination, strength, flexibility, and artistic abilities. All of these attributes are judge through the gymnast’s routines for each event that they complete. The different events are specific to gender, males do one set of events while female complete another. Women complete 4 different events, these include: The Uneven Bars (UB) The Uneven Bars are an event that includes two wooden bars, each supported on either side of the bar. The two bars are set a distance apart, with one bar being at a higher height than the other...
Words: 3123 - Pages: 13
...Physical medicine and rehabilitation, which falls into the subdiscipline of biomechanics, because it aims to restore functional physical ability in order to improve the biomechanics of a particular person. It is also known as physiatry, which is the branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. This is an ideal area of study for those planning to pursue a career in physical therapy or any rehabilitation setting. The definition of biomechanics is the muscular, joint and skeletal actions of the body during the execution of a given task, skill, or technique. Adequate understanding of biomechanics relating to sports has the greatest impact on performance,...
Words: 2047 - Pages: 9
...Kellis, E., & Katis, A. (2007). Biomechanical Characteristics and Determinants of Instep Soccer Kick. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 6, 154-165. The purpose of this review in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine was to examine the latest research findings on biomechanics of soccer kick performance and identify weaknesses of present research which justify further research in the future. A soccer kick is regarded as motions of the lower limb sections of the player’s dominant kicking leg. Angular velocity is maximized first by the thigh, then through the leg limb, and finally by the foot. This is accomplished by both segmental and joint movements on multiple surfaces. During the backswing, the thigh reduces speed mainly due...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...Committee finds that returning to play after sustaining a concussion "does not involve significant risk of a second injury either in the same game or during the season (January 2005). Dr. Omalu identifies chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of former Pittsburgh Steelers players Terry Long, 45, and Andre Waters, 44. Both had committed suicide ( 2004-2005 ). Dr. Elliot Pellman steps down as chairman of the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee but remains on the committee ( February, 2007 ). The NFL holds a medical conference on concussions( June 2007 ). The NFL formalizes new concussion guidelines which include a telephone hotline to report when a player is being forced to play contrary to medical advice ( August 14, 2007 ). Sport-related Concussion (SRC) is now recognized as a major public health concern. While the exact number of cases of SRC is unknown, an estimated 300,000 concussions occur annually in the U.S. with 40,000 concussions occurring annually in high school football alone. High school football is popular...
Words: 941 - Pages: 4
...Unilateral Ankle Immobilisation Alters Plantarflexor Strength, Balance and Walking Speed: A Pilot Study in Asymptomatic Volunteers” by Caplan N et al. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation © 2014 Human Kinetics, Inc. Note: This article will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Sport Rehabilitation. The article appears here in its accepted, peer-reviewed form, as it was provided by the submitting author. It has not been copyedited, proofed, or formatted by the publisher. Section: Original Research Report Article Title: One Week of Unilateral Ankle Immobilisation Alters Plantarflexor Strength, Balance and Walking Speed: A Pilot Study in Asymptomatic Volunteers Authors: 1Nick Caplan, 1Andrew Forbes, 2Sarkhell Radha, 1Su Stewart, 1Alistair Ewen, 1 Alan St Clair Gibson, and 1,3Deiary Kader Affiliations: 1Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. 2Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London. 3Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Gateshead, UK. Journal: Journal of Sport Rehabilitation Acceptance Date: October 7, 2014 ©2014 Human Kinetics, Inc. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2013-0137 “One Week of Unilateral Ankle Immobilisation Alters Plantarflexor Strength, Balance and Walking Speed: A Pilot Study in Asymptomatic Volunteers” by Caplan N et al. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation © 2014 Human Kinetics, Inc. One week of unilateral ankle immobilisation alters plantarflexor strength, balance and walking speed: a pilot study in...
Words: 5629 - Pages: 23
...BIOMECHANICS MEASUREMENT REPORT 3 CALUM NICHOLL (201033796) GROUND REACTION FORCE (GRF) CONTERMOVEMENT AND SQUAT JUMP KINETICS BIOMECHANICS LAB 3- CALUM NICHOLL Introduction Using a motion analysis system (Vicon Nexus System) the class were able to analyse the forces generated whilst the subject carried out counter movement and squat jumps. The T-Series cameras (6xT160, 6xT40) and the force plate that is dived into 4 sections were used to record the forces. The subject uses the stretch shortening cycle to gain height when jumping. There are threes phases that make up the stretch shortening cycle (SSC), the concentric, amortization and eccentric contractions. These three phases refer to muscular contractions, which form the stretch shortening cycle. This lengthening and shortening cycle of muscle actions is fundamental to athletic movement. The initial eccentric phase of contraction involves the muscle lengthening or stretching under tension. This type of contraction is used to decelerate the body. A basic example of this is the running motion, when the athlete makes contact with the ground their centre of gravity drops quickly. The muscles contract and control this sinking motion. The concentric contraction quickly follows the eccentric contraction and involves a rapid shortening of the muscles. The period of time between the beginning of the eccentric contraction and the start of the concentric...
Words: 1422 - Pages: 6
...Sports Science Do you have a passion for watching athletes competing side by side in the arena? Are you fond of playing heart pumping, sweat dripping sports? Are you an enthusiast in discovering the vast extent of knowledge presented in the great field of science? If you are, then Sports science is the perfect program for you. In Sports science, application of both athletic knowledge and skill, at the same time, employment of scientific concepts relating to the human health are combined and utilized. It incorporates both passions for sports and science into one well-rounded course. But what is Sports Science? Sports science is a discipline studying how exercise and different physical activities, such as sports, affect the entirety of the human body. It incorporates areas of Physiology, Psychology, Anatomy, Biomechanics and Biochemistry in determining the best methods to optimize the body’s performance in relation to doing activities requiring physical strength. It is knowledge combined with physical and a hands-on approach relating to real-world experiences. Majority of the sports scientists’ patients are athletes for they are the ones participating in the sporting world. In turn, sports scientists determine ways in order to improve and develop ways in order to achieve the best possible sporting performance of athletes. They also devise treatments and exercise programs that prepare and recover an injured athlete. An example of an exercise program for the rehabilitation...
Words: 494 - Pages: 2
...Success in global sport now requires good leadership and state-of-the-art scientific back up. Discuss, using example, the role the sports science now plays in the long term preparation of elite sports performers Introduction In this study I will debate why the modern performers need state of the art scientific back up. The margin between modern performers is so small and therefore scientific back up is needed to help increase the athlete’s potential and push above that margin to beat the opposition. This scientific evidence will help improve the athlete’s weaker areas and focus on improving weaknesses in the performer and therefore time management is required to maximise training time. Main points and examples Most elite squads now have access to a team of sport scientists which means the quality of sport in the modern game has increased and evolving thoroughly. The slight margins between performers in the modern game meaning that most performers have specialized coaching and scientific support to improve the performers skills. Sports scientist help the performer improve on their weaknesses and narrow down the margin between opposition and aim to increases the team’s chances of winning and the overall performance from the individual athlete. The advantages of this it will increase the team’s chances of success and performing better as a team due to the fact they more specific training programmes to help eliminate the weaker attributes in the squad. Sport scientists can...
Words: 870 - Pages: 4
...and promote great health. Whether it’s a new exercising method, a device to help workout and burn extra calories or a product that assists athletic necessities, companies today must seek out and provide their consumers with the latest technological improvements just to maintain the consumers’ loyalty. The companies that thrive for success in this competitive market often upgrade their products every chance they get along with promoting the product’s latest improvement. For example, the sports footwear company New Balance opened a sports research lab in its Lawrence, MA, facility. An article by Lou Dzierzak reveals: The modern 3,000-square-foot facility houses state-of-the-art biomechanics equipment, office space, a 120-foot running tract, 30 foot by 30 foot court and smash lab. The facility will focus on technology and product testing, innovation research, education and will host customer visits… This lab helps us join together that real-world athlete testing with the biomechanics. And with that better understanding, we can correlate mechanical and biomechanical measures to what athletes are really feeling. The investment in the new research lab facility provides New Balance with the latest technology to improve their footwear, avoid product obsolescence, certify that its design was well tested and fits the athletes’ needs. Competitors such as Nike ensure their products are current for their customer needs. Jeremey Mullman from “Advertising Age” emphasizes Nike’s...
Words: 1219 - Pages: 5
...arms at the same time. Biomechanics, which is our main focal point, is mostly concerned with the basic laws that govern the effects that different forces have on the state of rest or motion of any living system, whereas the applied area of biomechanics deals with solving practical problems (Hamilton, Weimar & Luttgens, 2012). Biomechanics also helps us breakdown skills and exercises down to their points of origin, as well as solve problems regarding specific exercises. Motor learning is the final section that will be discussed on performing the dips exercise. Within this portion there will be several areas covered to fully expand on full exercising a dip and developing the muscles use to complete a successful dip. Areas covered will include three phases of motor learning, learning cues, common errors, general feedback to use, the stages of learning, types of motor skills, information for use within a curriculum, and useful information for lesson plans to include one example lesson plan. When the average person looks at the body they would probably only consider the basics to the body such as; the arms, legs, head and the basic parts that help it operate such as the heart, lungs, blood, etc. This could all be called the anatomy of the body. Anatomy can be defined as the study of the structure and the relationship between body parts (Rodgers, 2009). But, does the average person ever think about the biomechanical aspects of the body parts? Biomechanics is the science of movement...
Words: 7640 - Pages: 31
...Risk of getting a concussion or severe head injury by helmet to helmet hit in the NFL Football is known to be a hard hitting sport and its spectators claim that those who play it already know the risks. One of the major injuries in football is a concussion or severe head injury which can lead to paralysis or fatality hence ending their career. This has been a big issue in the past years the National Football League and many solutions have been brought up to avoid these injuries. Every season the NFL introduces new rules outlining proper ways to hit in order to avoid certain injuries. Although these rules are introduced, concussions and other head injuries are still increasing by each football season. It is therefore important to understand the basis of this risk by performing an analysis and understanding its probabilities and consequences. The purpose of this project is performing a risk analysis of the underlying issue and come up with mitigation action. First the decision is identified, in this case, helmet to helmet hit or an illegal hit as defined by the NFL. The undesired outcome of this decision is players having concussions or severe head injuries while others even end up getting paralyzed. A risk avoidance or mitigation action will then be taken. The project will include statistical data available from numerous sources provided by the NFL and other independent studies. These data sets will be used in analysis from a set number of seasons. Methods of analysis such...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...SLAP Lesion Tear A SLAP lesion tear is an injury to the shoulder. This can cause painful symptoms and difficulty with overhead activities whether they be athletic or those of daily living. In 1985, Andrews et al were the first to describe the superior labrum tear. In their experience, they identified tears of the labrum from throwing athletes located anterosuperor near the origin of the bicep tendon. The cause of the lesion to tear was the bicep tendon being pulled off the labrum from the force generated during the throwing motion. As time went on, the labral tears got categorized into four different types of classifications called SLAP lesions by Snyder in 1990. A SLAP lesion, as described by Snyder involves tears of the superior aspect of the glenoid labrum that extend anteriorly and posteriorly to the biceps insertion. As an examiner, in order to detect a SLAP lesion, there needs to be an investigation of patients activities, any previous shoulder injuries, and or any factors that could lead up to this injury. The highest incidence of SLAP lesions is seen in the 20 to 29 and 40 to 49 years of age. In order to understand the mechanism of a SLAP lesion it is best to understand the anatomy of the shoulder. The shoulder is a ball and socket joint made up of three bones: humerus that is the upper arm bone, shoulder blade of the scapula, and the clavicle. The humerus bone fits into the rounded socket of the scapula, which is called the glenoid fossa. Surrounding the outside...
Words: 2249 - Pages: 9
...hard hitting game of football. The National Football League has recently taken steps to keep its players safer on the field by making all helmet to helmet hits illegal. Many players and fans alike claim it is taking away from the game, but many ex-NFL players and parents of younger players such as Matthews’ would disagree. They believe that the new reals regarding helmet to helmet impacts should be enforced and helmet standards should be raised to further protect the athletes. The NFL and other leagues have become so serious about helmet to helmet hits because these impacts can be tremendous. Athletes can run almost 20 miles an hour and most stand over six feet tall and weigh in at over 200 pounds. According to John Brenkus of ESPN’s Sports Science, being struck in the head by one of these athletes would be equal to crashing a car into a brick wall going 45 miles an hour. These...
Words: 1293 - Pages: 6
...Review Article Knee Surg Relat Res 2012;24(4):193-200 http://dx.doi.org/10.5792/ksrr.2012.24.4.193 pISSN 2234-0726 · eISSN 2234-2451 Knee Surgery & Related Research Patellofemoral Osteoarthritis Young-Mo Kim, MD, PhD and Yong-Bum Joo, MD, PhD Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Research Institue for Medical Sciences, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea Patellofemoral arthritis is a fairly common disease, and it has been gaining interest with increasing number of studies due to its diverse treatment methods. Patellofemoral arthritis has a broad range of management options according to the characteristics of individual diseases. Identifying whether patellofemoral arthritis is the primary cause of knee pain and is compartment arthritis is necessary for establishing an adequate treatment method. rough investigation of the literature, the issues of recent knowledge of femoropatella arthritis and the diagnosis and treatment of which were studied. Key words: Patellofemoral arthritis, Diagnosis, Treatment. Introduction Unicompartmental arthritis of the knee generally refers to not only tibiofemoral arthritis but also to disorders of the patella and the cartilage. In particular, isolated patellofemoral arthritis is a relatively common disorder for which there has been increasing research regarding its treatment methods. Patellofemoral arthritis occurs due to the loss of the cartilage of the patella and the trochlear groove in approximately half...
Words: 4684 - Pages: 19
