Biomechanics Revision Flashcards
What is biomechanics?
Study of living things from a mechanical perspective like forces and motions
What do biomechanics do?
They study how the athlete does things and interacts with their environment and then uses it to improve the athlete’s conditions and help prevent injuries
What is biomechanical movement analysis?
Measurements - quantitative and qualitative
What are quantitave and qualitative variables?
Quantitative - kinetic (forces) and kinematic (motion : distance, speed, acceleration)
Qualitative- descriptive e.g “push with more force”
Measurement tools for biM movement analysis?
- Video analysis for repeat viewing, slo-mo
- optoelectronic motion analysis (reflective balls on suit)
- accelerometer for speed and acceleration of body
- electromyography for recording electrical activity in muscles before contractions
- force platform for standing on
- goniometer for measuring joint angles
What is force and how is it measured?
Force causes objects to accelerate and is measured in Newtons (N) and is calculated by (F=m times a) m- mass a-acceleration
What is a vector quantity?
Depends on direction, magnitude and point of application
What are the 4 types of forces?
External - gravity, wind, objects, people
Internal - muscles, bones, connective tissues
Motion - angular, curvilinear
Reactionary - ground, joint
What is gravity? And how do you calculate it?
Is a constant force that pulls through an object’s centre of mass towards the earth
Weight force - mass times gravity
Acceleration due to gravity is 9.8m/s^2
What is friction and what affects it? And how do you overcome it?
Friction opposes the motion of an object and occurs when 2 surfaces come in contact with each other.
It is affected by nature of the 2 surfaces and the force pressing them together
Maximum amount of friction = maximum static friction
To overcome it, you must apply an increasing greater force
How is friction used in sports?
By increasing (more grip like using footwear, chalk to increase friction between hands and bar)
And decreasing (skiing)
What is air and water resistance and what affects it?
When going through water or air - it becomes drag
It’s affected by air density , cross sectional area of body, speed of body (incr. Speed = more drag)
Drag is a type if friction
How is it used in sports?
Full-bodied swim/body suits for high speed sports
What is force summation? How can you improve it?
The sum of all forces generated by each body part
Utilising more body part/muscle
Improving rom
Correct sequencing body parts
Improving coordination and timing of body movements
What types of force summation?
Simultaneous force summation - body parts moved at the same time (deadlifts)
Sequential force summation - in a sequence (for maximal force) “” big body - wide bos - other parts