Kinesiology & Biomechanics of

Skeletal Muscle

Djoko Prakosa
Dept of Anatomy
 Kinesiology
- Study of human movement

- a branch of biomechanics
 Terminology
Mechanics = the study of forces and their effects
Biomechanics = the application of mechanical laws to
living structures
Musculoskeletal biomechanics = biomech concerning
the interrelations of skeleton, muscles + joints.
Kinematics = deals with the geometry of the motion
without taking into account the forces that produce the
motion.
Kinetics = study of the relationships between the force
system acting on a body and the changes it produces
in body motion
 Terminology
• Osteokinematics = gross movements of bones at
joints
- flexion/extension
- abduction/adduction
- internal rotation/external rotation
--> describe movements occur around center of
rotation/joint axis --> as if joint axis is fixed
 Terminology
• Arthrokinematics = small amplitude motions of
bones at joint surface
- roll
- glide
- spin
--> specific movements of joint surfaces.
Normal movement is necessary to ensure long-term
joint integrity
Joint surfaces move with respect to one another by
simultaneously rolling, gliding and spinning
 Arthrokinematics
•If the moving joint surface rolls on its partners
without simultaneously gliding, the surfaces would
separated (gap or subluxate) in some place and
impinge in others

• Relation shape between bony shapes at joint surface

and the surfaces’ movements --> rules of concavity
and convexity
 Rules of Concavity and Convexity
•Each joint involves two bony surfaces, one convex
the other concave
- When the concave surface is fixed and the convex
surface moves on it
--> the convex surface rolls and glides in opposite
directions
- When the convex surface is fixed and the concave
surface moves on it
--> the concave surface rolls and glides in the same
direction
 Principles of applied mechanics
• Vector quantity = quantity
with magnitude + direction
• Vector addition: addition /
subtraction
- tip of 1st vector
coincide with tail of 2nd
vector
- tip of 1st vector joint to
tail of 2nd vector to create a
resultant
 Principles of applied mechanics
• Force = mechanical
disturbances or load
• Moments = the tendency of
the force (F) to turn the
bones about the joint.
M=F*L
L = moment arm
 Principles of applied mechanics
-
1st law: A body tends to remain in its inertial
state of rest or motion unless and until acted upon by
an external disturbing force.
- 2nd law: Acceleration of a body is directionally
proportional to the net force acting on the body and
inversely proportional to its mass.
- 3rd law:For every action, there is always an equal
and opposite reaction.
 Mass & Center of Mass
Mass = a physical quantity of matter composing a
body = a property of matter that causes it to have
weight in a gravitational field
F = ma W = mg
Center of Mass (COM)
= the point where the entire weight of the body is
concentrated
= the point in a body about which all the parts
exactly balance each other
- Whole body mass - Segmental mass
 Mass and Center of Mass
STABILITY MOBILITY
mass large small

COG position low high

BOS size large small

COG Vertical To point near To point near

projection BOS center BOS boundary
 Levers

= rigid bar that pivots about a fixed point, called the

axis or fulcrum, when a force applied to it.

Force is applied by muscles at some point along the

lever to move the body part (resistance/load).

The relationship of fulcrum to force to resistance

distinguishes the different classes of levers.
Levers
• First Class Lever

• Second Class Lever

• Third Class Lever

 First-class lever
- the axis (fulcrum) is located between the force and
the resistance/load

- the longer the lever arm is, the less force is required
to overcome the resistance.

- example: the forearm moving from a position of

flexion into extension at the elbow through contraction
of the triceps brachii muscles
 Second-class lever

- the resistance/load is between the axis and the force

- example: opening the mouth against resistance

 Third-class lever

- the force is between the axis and the resistance

- allow muscle to be inserted near the joint and

thereby produce increased speed of movement
although at a sacrifice a force.

- example: flexion of the elbow joint through

contraction of the biceps brachii muscle.
Moment of inertia = a physical quantity that an object
resists to change or action

MOI acting around joint’s axis

 Basic Behavior of Skeletal Muscle
Extensibility: the ability to be stretched or to increase
in length
Elasticity: the ability to return to the original length
after a stretch
Irritability: the ability to respond to a a stimulus
Ability to develop tension: the ability to decrease in
length
Increase in tension does not imply decrease in muscle
length.
Structural Organization of Skeletal Muscle

• muscle fiber
• motor unit
• fiber types
• fiber architecture
parallel fiber arrangement: parallel to the longitudinal axis
of the muscle, e.g. sartorius, masseter, biceps brachii, etc.
pennate fiber arrangement: at an angle to the longitudinal
axis of the muscle, e.g. rectus femoris, deltoid, etc.
 Mechanical Model of a Muscle
• Contractile component: Muscle fibers
• Series of elastic component: Tendon
• Parallel elastic component: Muscle membrane &
connective tissues
 Force Production in Muscle
The total force produce by muscle is influenced by its
mechanical properties i.e.
- length – tension relationship
- load – velocity relationship
- force time relationship
- muscle architecture

Other factors in force production are muscle

temperature, muscle fatigue & prestretching
 Length – tension relationship in a single
muscle fiber
Force (tension) that a muscle exerts varies with the
length at which it is held when it is stimulated.
It can be observed in a single
fiber contracting isome-
trically and tetanically
 Length – tension relationship of Skeletal
Muscle

• The active and passive tension exerted by a whole

muscle contracting isometrically and tetanically is
plotted against the muscle’s length
 Length – tension relationship of Skeletal
Muscle
• Stretch-shortening cycles  When a muscle is
stretched just prior to contraction, the resulting
contraction is more forceful than in the absence of
the pre-stretch.
• possible contributors to forceful tension
development
elastic recoil effect of the series elastic component
of the actively stretched muscle
stretch reflex of the forced lengthening muscle
example: wind-up during baseball pitching
 Load velocity relationship

• Load-velocity curved is generated by plotting the velocity

of motion of the muscle lever arm against the external
load
 Force time relationship
• The force is proportional to the contraction
time: The longer the contraction time, the
greater is yhe forced developed, up to the
point of maximum tension.
 Because time is allowed for the tension
produced by the contractile elements to be
transmitted through the parallel elastic
component to tendon.
 Effect of skeletal muscle
architectur
• The force is proportional to the cross
section of myofibril
• The velocity and the excursion are
proportional to the length of the myofibril
 Effect of temperature
• Increase in muscle temperature:
- increase conduction velocity
- increase enzymatic activity  increase efficiency of muscle
contraction
- increase elasticity of non contractile element

Muscle temperature increases by means

- increase in blood flow
- production of heat of reaction generated by metabolism, by the
release of the energy of contraction, and by friction of contractile
element