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Biomechanics
Biomechanics is one of the more significant disciplines in the field of
Exercise Science and Human Movement. The word is derived from the Greek
term ‘bio’ meaning ‘living’ and ‘mechanic’ meaning ‘forces.’ The primary
purpose of biomechanics is to evaluate a living organism’s motion as
well as its applications of force. In other words, biomechanics is a
discipline that applies the laws of mechanics and physics to study the
bodily movements and the causes of movements, both internally and
externally. It is primarily used in sports training, ergonomics, and
designing equipments, among many others. Biomechanics is broadly
categorized into: sports biomechanics, occupational biomechanics, and
clinical biomechanics. In the case of sports, especially athletic
events, thorough knowledge on biomechanics is highly regarded, as it
enables a trainer to attain a new level of professionalism and allows
him to evaluate as well as build exercises, which in turn help his
clients to achieve their goals in a quick and safe way. It also helps to
analyze and compare an athlete’s present technique with that of a model
or target that has been set. In addition, since it enables a trainer to
evaluate benefits and risks involved in a particular exercise,
biomechanics is considered highly vital for injury prevention.
Biomechanics is a blend of diverse areas of study, such as kinematics,
kinesiology, kinetics, and anatomy and physiology. One of the primary
branches of biomechanics – kinematics deals with the science of motion,
i.e. it studies accelerations, angles, positions, and velocities of body
segments that occur during motion. Kinesiology – referred to as the
parent discipline of biomechanics – is concerned with the scientific
study of human movement. This branch also focuses on such fields as
ecology, philosophy, and sometimes even on the sociology of sports as
well as exercises. The study of forces – kinetics is highly beneficial
in enhancing performance and reducing the chance of injury. Anatomy and
physiology are concerned with the body’s structure as well as its
functions with regard to biochemical, tissue, and cellular levels.
Besides, the study of biomechanics also consists of varied fields such
as Physical Anthropology, Botany, Bioengineering, Orthopedics, and
Zoology.
In
biomechanics it is essential to have a good understanding of the
applications of physics, since principles related to friction,
resistance, motion, and momentum play a dominant role in almost all
sporting events. In sports, biomechanics is usually based on certain
factors such as distance and displacement, speed and velocity,
acceleration, and application of force. Distance and displacement
represent two different quantities that measure the extent of the motion
of the body. Distance is a scalar quantity that measures the amount of
ground that an object has covered during its motion while displacement
is a vector quantity and it measures the interval between two locations.
In the case of speed and velocity, speed refers to the rate of change of
distance with regard to time and velocity to the rate of change of
displacement regarding time. Acceleration describes the rate of increase
in the velocity. In order to calculate acceleration, the equation a =
b/c is used, where a represents acceleration, and b and c stand for
change in velocity and change in time, respectively. In addition,
biomechanics also sometimes depends on Newton’s Laws of Motion,
consisting of three laws, and the Law of Gravitation, which is
considered the most persuasive in terms of the inverse-square law.
It has been
proven that biomechanics is highly beneficial in:
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Analyzing physical
movements through adoption of several techniques
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Identifying faults as
well as errors
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Reducing injuries during
athletic performances
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And above all, athletes
are able to achieve their goals quickly and without spending a lot
of time at the gym.
It is
evident that a better understanding of biomechanics provides one with
credibility among clients, peers, and other health and fitness
professionals. If you are interested in learning more about biomechanics
and how the body works there are dozens of books on the subject as well
as several very informative websites.
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