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An Introduction to Biomechanics of Sport and Exercise

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Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page iii

An Introduction to
Biomechanics of
Sport and Exercise
By

James Watkins PhD FPEA FBASES

Professor of Sports Science, Swansea University, Swansea, UK

Foreword by
David G Kerwin PhD FRSM FBASES
Professor of Biomechanics, Cardiff School of Sport, University of Wales Institute,
Cardiff, UK

EDINBURGH LONDON NEW YORK OXFORD PHILADELPHIA ST LOUIS SYDNEY TORONTO 2007
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page ii

To Shelagh

For Elsevier:

Commissioning Editor: Dinah Thom

Development Editor: Catherine Jackson
Associate Editor: Claire Wilson
Project Manager: Gail Wright
Senior Designer: George Ajayi
Illustration Manager: Gillian Richards
Illustrator: Ethan Danielson
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page iv

© 2007, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The right of James Watkins to be identified as author of this work has

been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of
the Publishers. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s
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First published 2007

ISBN: 978-0-443-10282-0

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

Notice
Neither the Publisher nor the Author assumes any responsibility for
any loss or injury and/or damage to persons or property arising out of or
related to any use of the material contained in this book. It is the responsibility
of the treating practitioner, relying on independent expertise and knowledge of
the patient, to determine the best treatment and method of application for the
patient.
The Publisher

The
Publisher’s
policy is to use
paper manufactured
from sustainable forests

Printed in China
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page v

Contents

Foreword vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 Linear Motion 11

Chapter 3 Angular Motion 99

Chapter 4 Work, Energy and Power 169

Chapter 5 Fluid Mechanics 189

Chapter 6 Biomechanical Analysis of Human Movement 211

Practical Worksheet 1 221

Practical Worksheet 2 225

Practical Worksheet 3 231

Practical Worksheet 4 234

Practical Worksheet 5 240

Practical Worksheet 6 246

Practical Worksheet 7 250

Answers to Review Questions 255

Glossary 269

Index 277
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page vii
Foreword
Professor James Watkins has been developing
courses and writing on the teaching of biome-
chanics with clarity and purpose for a large
part of his academic career. This new book, An
Introduction to Biomechanics of Sport and Exercise,
demonstrates extensive skills in writing about
and communicating ideas in biomechanics, while
drawing on a wealth of teaching experience.
Professor Watkins (Jim) was Head of
Department at the former Scottish School of
Physical Education in Glasgow, which later
became part of the University of Strathclyde.
In 2000 he set up a new Department of Sports
Science at Swansea University. Despite the many
demands on his time as academic leader and
Head of Department, and his work on national
and European journals and committees, he has
maintained a commitment to the teaching of bio-
mechanics which is reflected in his new book.
This book is directed at students pursuing
undergraduate degrees in the sport and exer-
cise sciences. It will also be of interest to physi-
cal education teachers and coaches and to
anyone seeking an understanding of the
mechanics of human movement.
Biomechanics, as applied to sport and exer-
cise, normally focuses on two major themes:
improving performance and reducing injury.
Both rely on the idea that practitioners under-
stand the mechanics which underpin human
movement. This new text by Professor Watkins
tackles many of the tricky issues which chal-
lenge undergraduate students in sport and exer-
cise science degree programmes, and which
vii
take them outside their comfort zone. The
book assumes no prior knowledge in mechanics
but instead leads the reader gently from basic
principles, and is supported throughout by
illustrations and worked examples which neatly
complement the explanations being presented.
Jim is the ideal person to write this book. In
the UK he is unusual in writing textbooks on
biomechanics. This has traditionally been the
province of academics based in the USA. Jim
has previously produced two main texts on bio-
mechanics. One, An Introduction to Mechanics of
Human Movement, was written some years ago
and can be seen as the forerunner to the current
book. The second, Structure and Function of the
Musculoskeletal System, focused on a different,
but related, area. This examined how muscles,
bones and joints respond and adapt to the
forces exerted on them during training and per-
formance. This 1999 publication received high
praise, with excellent sales, and has been trans-
lated into Spanish and Chinese. His new book
will be eagerly awaited by his current reader-
ship. It will also have a ready market in the UK
and overseas within the ever-growing commu-
nity of undergraduate students on programmes
where technical and mechanical analyses of
human movement feature.
Jim is expert in the fields of sport and exer-
cise sciences and physical education and has
been awarded Fellowships by the two leading
UK professional bodies, the British Association
of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) and the
Physical Education Association (PEA). He is an
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page viii
viii FOREWORD
acknowledged expert reviewer of research
papers in sport and exercise biomechanics and
physical education. He promoted professional
aspects of biomechanics during his period of
office as Chair of the biomechanics section of
BASES, and has twice acted as biomechanics
research specialist on the national review panel
of UK Sports Related Subjects (Higher Education
Funding Council of England, Research
Assessment Exercise, 1996 and 2001). He thus
brings a wealth of experience, expertise and
insight to this academic field of study.
This book is constructed in a logical and incre-
mental manner with small steps being taken at
each stage. The introduction sets the scene and
outlines the scope of the book. It also introduces
the main system of units used in all international
conferences and publications and employed
throughout the book, the International System
(SI). There is a brief summary table contrasting
SI units with the British imperial system of
measurements, which has historical interest and
could be useful to modern students when study-
ing old research papers and textbooks or when
sourcing comparative data from past studies.
The main body of the book contains sections
on linear motion, angular motion and work, energy
and power; before moving to the technically
demanding, but interesting, section on fluid
mechanics. There are many references within
the text to reflect current knowledge in special-
ist fields, as illustrated in the chapter on angular
motion, where the work of Professor M. R. ‘Fred’
Yeadon on the mechanics of twisting somer-
saults has been included. Before moving to the
final section of the book, which contains a
range of useful laboratory worksheets, there is
a chapter on one of Jim’s personal favourite
topics: the importance of a sound mechanical
knowledge to underpin analysis. This chapter,
entitled Biomechanical analysis of human move-
ment, summarizes a topic that Jim has written
on in both physical education and sports sci-
ences contexts. In this chapter he argues
strongly for the importance of sound mechani-
cal understanding in qualitative and quantita-
tive analyses of sport and exercise. With this
book, students, interested teachers and coaches
and allied medical professionals will be able to
gain the knowledge and understanding neces-
sary to enhance their skills of analysis.
This new book represents the fruits of 30
years’ experience in teaching and communica-
tion in the field of sport and exercise biome-
chanics and will be an invaluable resource for
up-and-coming sport and exercise scientists.
David G. Kerwin
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page ix
Preface
All movements and changes in movement are
brought about by the action of forces. The two
most common types of force are pushing and
pulling, but there are many variations, such as
lifting a book from a table, holding a pen, turn-
ing a door handle, kicking a ball and throwing a
discus. These are all examples of the human
body applying a force to an object in order to
move it or change the way it is moving, i.e. to
change its speed and/or direction of movement.
Human movement is brought about by the
musculoskeletal system (skeleton, joints, skeletal
muscles) under the control of the nervous sys-
tem. The muscles pull on the bones in order to
control the movements of the joints and, in doing
so, control the movement of the body as a whole.
Biomechanics of sport and exercise is the study
of the forces that act on and within the human
body and the effects of these forces on the size,
shape, structure and movement of the body.
In sport and exercise, every time a coach,
teacher, instructor or therapist attempts to
improve an individual’s technique (the way that
the arms, legs and trunk move in relation to
each other during the movement), s/he is trying
to improve the mechanics of the individual’s
movement, i.e. improve the coordination of the
forces produced by various muscle groups. In
the context of sport and exercise, biomechanics
is the science underlying technique. Good tech-
nique is characterized by effective performance
(the purpose of the movement) and decreased
risk of injury (distribution of forces in muscles,
ix
bones and joints so that no part is excessively
overloaded). Poor technique is characterized by
increased risk of injury, even though perform-
ance may be effective, at least for a while.
There are basically two ways of analysing
technique: qualitative and quantitative. A qual-
itative analysis is based on observation (directly
and/or via film or video). Clearly, knowing
what to look for and being able to observe accu-
rately are of prime importance in qualitative
analysis. An observer’s ability to observe accu-
rately will largely depend upon his/her knowl-
edge and experience and, in particular, his/her
ability to identify the mechanical requirements
of the movement under consideration. Even
then, because of the speed of the movement, it
may be difficult to detect faults in technique by
observation alone. In these circumstances, a
quantitative analysis of technique will be
required. A quantitative analysis is based on
measurements of the kinematic (distance,
speed, acceleration) and kinetic (force) vari-
ables that determine performance. For exam-
ple, stride rate and stride length (obtained from
video analysis) and the forces acting on the feet
(obtained with the use of a force platform) may
be used to evaluate the technique of a runner.
The key to understanding biomechanics is a
thorough understanding of the concepts of force,
Newton’s laws of motion, work and energy. The
purpose of this book is to develop knowledge
and understanding of these fundamental bio-
mechanical concepts and their application in
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page x
x PREFACE
movement analysis. The book is designed pri-
marily as a course text for undergraduate stu-
dents of sport and exercise science, but students
of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and
podiatric medicine will also find the book useful,
since an understanding of biomechanics is essen-
tial to successful practice in all these professions.
The book has six chapters. Chapter 1 intro-
duces the fundamental concepts of force,
mechanics, forms of motion and units of meas-
urement that underlie biomechanics. Chapters 2
and 3 develop the concepts of kinematics (dis-
tance, speed, acceleration) and kinetics (the
forces responsible for the observed kinematics)
in relation to linear and angular motion. Chapter
4 develops the concepts of work, energy, power
and mechanical efficiency. Chapter 5 develops
the concept of fluid mechanics in relation to
air resistance and water resistance. Chapter 6
describes the qualitative and quantitative
approaches to movement analysis.
No previous knowledge of mechanics is
assumed. All the biomechanical concepts and
principles are explained from first principles. To
aid learning, the book features a content
overview at the start of each chapter, key points
highlighted within the text, a large number of
applied examples with illustrations, review
questions with detailed solutions to all numeri-
cal questions, practical worksheets with exam-
ple results, references to guide further reading,
an extensive glossary and an extensive index.
Swansea 2006 James Watkins
Prelims.qxd 2/17/07 11:52 AM Page xi

xi

Acknowledgements

I thank all of the staff at Elsevier who con- and graduate students who have hepled me,
tributed to the commissioning and production directly and indirectly, over many years, to
of the book. I also thank my academic col- develop and organize the content of the book.
leagues and the large number of undergraduate

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