Biomechanics

Biomechanics is the science concerned with the internal and external forces acting on the human body and the effects produced by these forces. At the highest levels of sports in which techniques play a major role, improvement comes so often from careful attention to detail that no coach can afford to leave these details to chance or guesswork. For such coaches knowledge of biomechanics might be regarded as essential. Kinematics Kinematics is the branch of biomechanics concerned with the study of movement with reference to the amount of time taken to carry out the activity.
Distance and displacement

Distance and displacement are quantities used to describe the extent of a body's motion. Distance is the length of the path a body follows and displacement is the length of a straight line joining the start and finish points e.g. in a 400m race on a track the length of the path the athlete follows (distance) is 400m but their displacement will be zero metres (they finish where they start).
Speed and velocity

Speed and velocity describe the rate at which a body moves from one location to another. These two terms are often thought, incorrectly, to be the same. Average speed of a body is obtained by dividing the distance by the time taken where as the average Velocity is obtained by dividing the displacement by the time taken e.g. consider a swimmer in a 50m race in a 25m length pool who completes the race in 60 seconds - distance is 50m and displacement is 0m (swimmer is back where they started) so speed is 50/60= 0.83m/s and velocity is 0/60=0 m/s

Speed and Velocity = distance traveled time taken

Acceleration

Acceleration is defined as the rate at which velocity changes with respect to time.

average acceleration = (final velocity - initial velocity) elapsed time

From Newton's 2nd law:

Force = Mass x Acceleration Acceleration = Force Mass

If the mass of a sprinter is 70kg and the force exerted on the starting blocks is 700N then acceleration = 700 70 = 10 msec
Acceleration due to gravity

Whilst a body is in the air it is subject to a downward acceleration, due to gravity, of approximately 9.81m/s
Vectors and scalars

Distance and speed can be described in terms of magnitude and are known as scalars. Displacement, velocity and acceleration that require magnitude and direction are known as vectors.
Components of a vector

Figure 2 Figure 1 Let us consider the horizontal and vertical components of velocity of the shot in Figure 1. Figure 2 indicates the angle of release of the shot at 35 and the velocity at release as 12 m/sec.

Vertical component Vv = 12 x sin 35 = 6.88 m/sec Horizontal component Vh = 12 x cos 35 = 9.82 m/sec

Let us now consider the distance the shot will travel horizontally (its displacement). Range (R) = ((v sin cos) + (v cos sqrt((v sin) + 2gh))) g Where v = 12, = 35, h = 2m (height of the shot above the ground at release) and g = 9.81

R = ((12 sin35 cos35) + (12 cos35 sqrt((12 sin35) + 2x9.81x2))) 9.81 R = 16.22m

The time of flight of the shot can be determined from the equation (2 v sin) g

Time of flight = (2 x 12 x sin 35) 9.81 = 1.4 seconds

Uniformly accelerated motion

When a body experiences the same acceleration throughout some interval of time, its acceleration is said to be constant or uniform. In these circumstances, the following equations apply:

Final velocity = initial velocity + (acceleration x time) Distance = (initial velocity x time) + ( x acceleration x time)

Moment of force (torque)

The moment of force or torque is defined as the application of a force at a perpendicular distance to a joint or point of rotation. Angular Kinematics
Angular distance and displacement

When a rotating body moves from one position to another, the angular distance through which it moves is equal to the length of the angular path. The angular displacement that a rotating body experiences is equal in magnitude to the angle between the initial and final position of the body. Angular movement is usually expressed in radians where 1 radian = 57.3
Angular speed, velocity and acceleration

Angular speed = angular displacement time Angular velocity = angular displacement time Angular acceleration = (final angular velocity - initial angular velocity) time

Angular Momentum

Angular momentum is defined as: angular velocity x moment of inertia

The angular momentum of a system remains constant throughout a movement provided nothing outside the system acts with a turning moment on it. This is known as the Law Conservation of Angular Momentum. In simple terms, this means that if a skater, when already spinning, changes their moment of inertia (they move their arms out to the side) then the rate of spin will change but the angular momentum will stay the same. Linear Kinetics Kinetics is concerned with what causes a body to move the way it does.
Momentum, inertia, mass, weight and force

Momentum: mass x velocity Inertia: the resistance to acceleration - reluctance of a body to change whatever it is doing Mass: the quantity of matter of which a body is composed of - not affected by gravity - measured in kilograms (kg) Weight: force due to gravity - is mass x gravity (9.81m/s) Force: a pushing a pulling action that causes a change of state (rest/motion) of a body - is proportional to mass x acceleration - is measured in Newtons (N) where 1N is the force that will produce an acceleration of 1 m/s in a body of 1kg mass

The classification of forces, external or internal, depends on the definition of the 'system'. In biomechanics, the body is seen as the 'system' so any force exerted by one part of the system on another is known as an internal force all other forces are external. Newton's Laws of Motion

First Law: Every body continues in its state of rest or motion in a straight line unless compelled to change that state by external forces exerted upon it. Second Law: The rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the force causing it and the change takes place in the direction in which the force acts Third Law: To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction OR for every force that is exerted by one body on another there is an equal and opposite force exerted by the second body on the first

Newton's law of gravitation

Any two particles of matter attract one another with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them

Work, Energy and Power Kinetic energy is mechanical energy possessed by any moving object. An equation for Kinetic Energy can be derived from the work definition:

Work = force x distance moved in the direction of the force

Kinetic Energy = x mass x velocity (result is in joules) Power is defined as the rate at which energy is used or created from other forms

Power = energy used time taken Power = (force x distance) time taken Power = force x velocity

Angular Kinetics
Translation and couple

A force that acts through the centre of a body result in only translation. A force whose line of action does not pass through the body's centre of gravity is called an eccentric force and results in translation and rotation. Example - if you push through the centre of an object it will move forward in the direction of the force (translation) if you push to one side of the object (eccentric force) it will move forward and rotate. A couple is an arrangement of two equal and opposite forces that cause a body to rotate.
Levers

A lever is a rigid structure, hinged at one point and to which forces are applied at two other points. The hinge or pivot point is known as the fulcrum. One of the forces that act on the lever is known as the weight that opposes movement and the other is the force that causes movement. For more details see the page on Levers.
Bernoulli Effect

Lift forces interact with objects in flight and are caused by the aerodynamic shape of the object. If an object has a curved top and flat bottom (wing of an aircraft), the air will have further to travel over the top than the bottom. For the two airflows to reach the back of the object at the same time the air flowing over the top of the object will have to flow faster. This means that there will be less

pressure above the object (air is thinner) than below it and the object will lift. This is often referred to as the Bernoulli effect. Additional Information Associated Pages The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page:

Articles on Skill training Biomechanics Levers Running Economy Skill Development Skill Classification Skill, Technique and Ability Training Books Training Products

Associated Books The following books provide more information related to this topic:

The Biomechanics of Sports Technique, J.G. Hay, ISBN 0 13 084534 5 Advanced Studies in Physical Education and Sport, P Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 4482345 Physical Education and the Study of Sport, B. Davis et al., ISBN 0 7234 31752 Essentials of Exercise Physiology, W.D. McArdle et al., ISBN 0 683 30507 7 Physical Education and Sport Studies, D. Roscoe et al., ISBN 1 901424 20 0 The World of Sport Examined, P. Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 438719 9 Advanced PE for Edexcel, F. Galligan et al., ISBN 0 435 50643 9 Examining Physical Education, K. Bizley, ISBN 0 435 50660 9 Sport and PE, K Wesson et al., ISBN 0 340 683821 PE for you, J. Honeybourne, ISBN 0 7487 3277 2