Introduction to Sports Biomechanics: Analysing Human Movement

315 Pages·2007·5.54 MB·English

by  Roger Bartlett

Introduction to Sports Biomechanics
Introduction to Sports Biomechanics: Analysing Human Movement Patterns provides a
genuinely accessible and comprehensive guide to all of the biomechanics topics covered
in an undergraduate sports and exercise science degree.
Now revised and in its second edition, Introduction to Sports Biomechanics is colour
illustrated and full of visual aids to support the text. Every chapter contains cross-
references to key terms and definitions from that chapter, learning objectives and sum-
maries, study tasks to confirm and extend your understanding, and suggestions to
further your reading.
Highly structured and with many student-friendly features, the text covers:
(cid:127) Movement Patterns – Exploring the Essence and Purpose of Movement Analysis
(cid:127) Qualitative Analysis of Sports Movements
(cid:127) Movement Patterns and the Geometry of Motion
(cid:127) Quantitative Measurement and Analysis of Movement
(cid:127) Forces and Torques – Causes of Movement
(cid:127) The Human Body and the Anatomy of Movement
This edition of Introduction to Sports Biomechanics is supported by a website containing
video clips, and offers sample data tables for comparison and analysis and multiple-
choice questions to confirm your understanding of the material in each chapter.
This text is a must have for students of sport and exercise, human movement sciences,
ergonomics, biomechanics and sports performance and coaching.
Roger Bartlett is Professor of Sports Biomechanics in the School of Physical Education,
University of Otago, New Zealand. He is an Invited Fellow of the International Society
of Biomechanics in Sports and European College of Sports Sciences, and an Honorary
Fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, of which he was
Chairman from 1991–4. Roger is currently Editor of the journal Sports Biomechanics.

Introduction to Sports
Biomechanics
Analysing Human Movement Patterns
Second edition
Roger Bartlett
First edition published 1997
This edition first published 2007
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 1997, 2007 Roger Bartlett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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 has been requested
ISBN 0-203-46202-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–415–33993–6 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–33994–4 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–46202–5 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–33993–3 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–33994–0 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–46202–7 (ebk)
To the late James Hay, a source of great inspiration

Contents
List of figures x
List of tables xv
List of boxes xvi
Preface xvii
Introduction xix
1 Movement patterns – the essence of sports biomechanics 1
Introduction 1
Defining human movements 3
Some fundamental movements 8
Movement patterns 35
Comparison of qualitative and quantitative movement
analysis 36
Summary 40
Study tasks 40
Glossary of important terms 41
Further reading 42
2 Qualitative analysis of sports movements 43
Introduction 44
A structured analysis framework 44
Preparation stage – knowing what and how to observe 48
Observation stage – observing reliably 51
Evaluation and diagnosis stage – analysing what’s right and wrong in a
movement 54
Intervention stage – providing appropriate feedback 56
Identifying critical features of a movement 59
Summary 72
Study tasks 73
Glossary of important terms 75
Further reading 76
Appendix 2.1 Universal and partially general movement
(biomechanical) principles 76
vii
CONTENTS
Appendix 2.2 Other examples of phase analysis of sports
movements 78
3 More on movement patterns – the geometry of motion 83
Introduction 83
Movement patterns revisited 84
Fundamentals of movement 87
Linear motion and the centre of mass 90
The geometry of angular motion 93
The coordination of joint rotations 96
Summary 109
Study tasks 109
Glossary of important terms 111
Further reading 112
Appendix 3.1 Further exploration of angle–time patterns 112
4 Quantitative analysis of movement 115
Introduction 116
The use of videography in recording sports movements 117
Recording the movement 120
Experimental procedures 126
Data processing 133
Projectile motion 139
Linear velocities and accelerations caused by rotation 146
Rotation in three-dimensional space 146
Summary 148
Study tasks 149
Glossary of important terms 151
Further reading 152
Appendix 4.1 Data smoothing and filtering 153
Appendix 4.2 Basic vector algebra 157
5 Causes of movement – forces and torques 163
Introduction 164
Forces in sport 164
Combinations of forces on the sports performer 180
Momentum and the laws of linear motion 183
Force–time graphs as movement patterns 186
Determination of the centre of mass of the human body 189
Fundamentals of angular kinetics 191
Generation and control of angular momentum 195
Measurement of force 201
Measurement of pressure 213
Summary 215
viii
CONTENTS
Study tasks 216
Glossary of important terms 218
Further reading 222
6 The anatomy of human movement 223
Introduction 224
The body’s movements 225
The skeleton and its bones 232
The joints of the body 237
Muscles – the powerhouse of movement 241
Electromyography – what muscles do 258
Experimental procedures in electromyography 265
EMG data processing 268
Isokinetic dynamometry 273
Summary 276
Study tasks 276
Glossary of important terms 278
Further reading 280
Index 281
ix