OBSERVING THE ANGULAR KINEMATICS OF HUMAN MOVEMENT:

Understanding angular motion is particularly important for the students of human movement
because most volitional human movement rotation of one or more body segments around the joints
at which they articulate. Translation of body occurs by the virtue of rotational; motions taking place
around some axis of rotation.

Such as a: Hip joint, knee joint, ankle joint.

Clinicians, coaches and teachers of physical activities routinely analyse angular kinematics of human
movement. Observing the timing and the range of motion (ROM), the analysts can make inferences
about coordination of muscle activity producing joint actions and forces resulting from them.

MEASURING ANGLES:

Angle:

‘An angle is composed of two sides that intersect each other at a vertex’

How to make a quantitative kinematic analysis?

 Project the filmed images of human body on a piece of paper

 Mark the joint centres with dots
 Connect the dots with lines representing the longitudinal axes of body segments
 Measure the angles using a protractor with joint segments forming the vertices of angles

Same work can be performed by computer linked cameras that automatically track reflective
markers with software then generating 3D kinematic and kinetic quantities of interest.