Human Movement from a biomechanical perspective 1

Question 1

What is biomechanics?

Answer 1

the study of the mechanical laws relating to the
movement or structure of living organisms.

Question 2

Human biomechanics- Focus of study

Answer 2

how mechanical principles affect the structure of
human beings and the movement of human beings.
- Range Human group level - microscopic biomechanics.
- interactions between multiple bodies
- Analysis of whole body movements
- How cells respond to mechanical stress.

Question 3

Biomechanics- Methodology

Answer 3

• Tools (motion capture systems, force platforms, EMG)
  -Study design (Experimental designs, Computational simulations, in vitro studies)
• Data Analysis ( Quantitative analysis using statistical methods, computational modelling)

Question 4

Biomechanics- Conceptual frame works

Answer 4

Theories Newtonian mechanics (Law of Inertia, Force, Action-reaction)
-Other laws Conservation of momentum

Question 5

Linear displacement

Answer 5

Linear displacement: distance and
direction an entire person has
moved from its starting point

Question 6

Linear velocity

Answer 6

speed and direction at which a person is moving
* Displacement divided by time
* Often measured in meters per
second (m/s)

Question 7

Linear acceleration

Answer 7

rate at which an person’s linear velocity changes over time
* Often measured in meters per second
squared (m/s2)

Question 8

Linear momentum

Answer 8

a way of classifying how much motion is
happening, or how hard it would be to stop an oncoming object moving as a unit
* Is the product of an object’s mass and linear velocity
* Harder to stop a bigger person
* Harder to stop a faster person
* Often measured in kilograms times meters per second (kgm/s)

Question 9

Impulse

Answer 9

refers to change in a person’s momentum due to a force acting on it over time.
* Equal to force multiplied by time
* Bigger force results in greater change in momentum
* Applying a consistent force over a longer epoch
(period of time) results in greater change in
momentum

Question 10

Angular displacement

Answer 10

the change in an object’s angle or direction of rotation
* Measured in degrees or radians

Question 11

Angular velocity

Answer 11

the speed and direction of an object’s rotation
(such as the shank, or lower leg)
* How much angular displacement is
covered in a given time
* It is often measured in radians per
second (rad/s)

Question 12

Angular acceleration

Answer 12

the rate at which an person’s angular velocity changes
over time
* Measured in rads/s2

Question 13

Torque

Answer 13

the rotational force applied to an object around an axis (the rotational force caused by the muscles
is applied to the shank, which rotates at the knee)
* It is often measured in Newton meters
(N*m).

Question 14

Moment of inertia

Answer 14

how much mass is distributed around the axis of rotation, and where it is relative to the axis
*A property that describes how difficult it is to change its rotational motion (rotational inertia)
*Measured in (kgm2)Objects with more mass will be more resistant to changes in rotational motion
*Objects with mass further from the axis will more
resistant to changes in rotational motion (shifts center of mass away from axis)

Question 15

Angular momentum

Answer 15

describes the amount of rotational motion an object has, and how hard it would be to stop an object from rotating
* Product of an object’s moment of inertia and
angular velocity
* Often measured in kilogram meters squared per
second (kg*m^2/s)