Chapter 2: Science of Human Movement Flashcards
Kinesiology
The study of human movement.
Biomechanics
A physics term involving the study of how forces affect a living body.
Ground reaction force
An equal and opposite external force that is exerted back onto the body by the ground.
Quantitative
analysis
Taking physical
measurements and making mathematical computations to reach a conclusion.
Qualitative
analysis
Applying principles of proper technique and com- bining them with observa- tions in order to make an educated evaluation.
Sagittal Plane
Bisects the body into right and left halves.
Frontal Plane
Bisects the body into front and back halves.
Transverse Plane
Bisects the body to create upper and lower halves.
Plumb line
A vertical line of reference consisting of a cord with plumb bob attached to one end.
Concentric
Developing tension while a muscle is shortening; when developed tension overcomes resistive force.
Eccentric
Developing tension while a muscle is lengthening; when resistive force overcomes developed tension.
Isometric
When the contractile force is equal to the resistive force.
Force
An influence applied by one object to another, which results in an acceleration or deceleration of the second object.
Force equation
Mass × Acceleration
Mass
The amount of matter in an object or physical body.
Matter
A substance that takes up space.
Acceleration
The speed of an object.
Weight
The amount of force that gravity has on the body.
Gravity
A force that accelerates an object or mass downward towards the earth’s center.
Length-tension
relationship
The resting length of a muscle and the tension the muscle can produce at this resting length.
Force–velocity
curve
The relationship of muscle’s ability to produce tension at differing shortening velocities.
Arthrokinematics
Joint motion.
Class I lever
The fulcrum is between the force and the load.
Class II lever
The load is between the force and the fulcrum.
Class III lever
The most common in the body, the pull is between the load and the fulcrum.
Rotary motion
Movement of the bones around the joints.
Torque
A force that produces rotation. Common unit of torque is the Newton-Meter or Nm.
Agonists
Muscles that act as prime movers. For example, the gluteus maximus is the prime mover for hip extension.
Antagonists
Muscles that act in direct opposition to prime movers. For example, the psoas is antagonistic to the gluteus maximus.
Synergists
Muscles that assist prime movers during functional movement patterns. For example, the hamstring and the erector spinae are synergistic with the gluteus maximus during hip extension.
Stabilizers
Muscles that support or stabilize the body while the prime movers and the synergists perform the movement patterns.
Neuromuscular
system
A combined system of the nervous and muscular systems.
Extensibility
The ability of being stretched or lengthened.
Elasticity
A muscle’s ability to return to normal or resting length after it has been stretched.
Irritability
A muscle is able to respond to a stimulus.
Contraction
The activation of a force within a muscle to produce an action at a joint.
Motor behavior
Motor response to internal and external environmental stimuli.
Motor control
How the CNS integrates internal and external sensory information with previous experience to produce a motor response.
Motor learning
The integration of motor control processes with practice and experience that leads to relatively permanent changes in the body’s capacity to produce skilled movements.
Motor Development
The change in motor skill behavior over time-throughout the lifetime.
Motor unit
discharge rate
The rate at which motor neurons discharge action potentials; also referred to as rate coding.
Proprioception
The cumulative neural input from sensory afferents to the CNS.
Sensorimotor
integration
The ability of the CNS to gather and interpret sen- sory information to execute the proper motor response.
Internal feedback
Sensory information provided by the body
via length–tension relationships, force–couple relationships and arthrokinematics to monitor movement and the environment.
External feedback
Information provided by some external source.
Knowledge of
results
Feedback used after the completion of a movement to help inform the athlete about the outcome of his performance.
Knowledge of performance
Feedback that provides information about the quality of the movement during exercise.
