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Chapter Goals:
- Find the key biomechanics terminology and topics related to integrated sports performance.
- Be able to explain the functional anatomy and its relation with integrated performance training.
- Define the motor behaviors in integrated sports performance training.
Introduction
The science of human movement studies how the human movement system functions as its own interdependent and interrelated scheme.
The human movement system has the muscular, articular, and neural systems that combine to make it.
They may seem separate, but all of their functions actually come together to work as one.
Biomechanics
Kinesiology and biomechanics are two disciplines that are under the umbrella of analyzing human movement.
Kinesiology is the study of human movement.
Biomechanics is a physics term that studies how forces affect one living body.
When we look into human motions, biomechanical analysis can be qualitative and it can be quantitative.
Anatomic Terminology
All professions have their language for discussing the needs of their study. Here we will go over the terms we use in human movement analysis.
Planes of Motion, Axis, and Combined Joint Motions
The human movement will happen in three dimensions and is discussed in a system of planes and axes.
We have three imaginary motion planes: the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes. They are positioned at right angles to intersect at the body’s center of mass.
Movements are typically known to occur in one primary plane when it occurs in a motion that is parallel to a plane. But, in reality, no motion occurs without having some other plane affecting it.
Joint motions refer to the plane of motion, how the joints’ muscles act, and what axis it relates to.
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The Sagittal plane is responsible for flexion and extension and it works in the coronal axis. Some exercises could include the bicep curl, squats, calf raises, etc. To find the sagittal plane, split the body into right and left halves.Â
The frontal plane is responsible for the motions of adduction, abduction, lateral flexion, and eversion and inversion, and it will work in the anterior-posterior plane. Some example exercises include side lateral raises, lunges, and shuffling. Bisect the body into front and back halves to find the frontal plane.
The transverse plan is responsible for the motions of internal and external rotation, left and right spinal rotation, and horizontal adduction and abduction. The axis of rotation that is here will be the longitudinal one. Some exercises that would be a solid example are things like cable rotations, transverse plane lunges, throwing, golfing, and swinging a bat. To find the Transverse plane, split the body into upper and lower halves.
Combined Joint Motions
In athletic movements, the body must keep its center of gravity aligned over a base that is constantly changing its support.
When alignment changes in one joint, the alignment will change in other joints to keep stability.
Axes of Motion
In addition to those three planes of motion, we also have these three axes of reference for describing the various movements of the human movement system.
We know these axes as medial-lateral, anterior-posterior, and longitudinal.
These three axes relate directly to the planes of motion, so refer to the information we had on those for which refers to which.
One last thing to know here is that there is an imaginary plumb line, which is an imaginary line that hangs from the head and runs down the feet. It refers to the longitudinal axis.
Muscle Actions
We have three different muscle actions that we can go through.
Concentric muscle actions are when the muscle develops tension while shortening its length and overcoming the resistive force.
Eccentric muscle actions are when the developing tension of the muscle occurs when it is lengthening and thus is not overcoming the resistive force.
The isometric muscle action is when the contractile force of the muscle is equal to the force of resistance.
Muscular Force
Force is the interaction between two entities or bodies resulting from an object’s acceleration or deceleration.
Forces are characterized by the magnitude and direction they have.
The human movement system manipulates the various forces from many directions to produce movement effectively.
Force is equal to mass times the acceleration, or F = M x A
Mass is the amount of matter an object has and acceleration is the speed at which the object moves.
When substances take up space, it is seen as matter. Weight is a force and the amount of force that gravity has on the body.
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Gravity is a force that accelerates an object toward the earth’s center.
Length-Tension Relationships
The length tension relationship is the resting length of a muscle and the tension the muscle can produce at the length at rest.
This entire concept is important to the sports performance professional and it coincides with the previous concept of joint alignment.
The position of one joint can affect another drastically and affect the tension of surrounding muscles in the joint.
Force-Velocity Curve
This refers to the relationship between the ability of the muscle to produce force at differing shortening velocities.
The hyperbolic relationship shows that the velocity of a concentric contraction will increase, and this causes the developed tension to decrease.
The velocity of the shortening is related to the max rate that the cross bridges can cycle and can be influenced by external loads.
Muscular Leverage and Arthrokinematics
The amount of force that the human movement system can produce depends not just on the motor unit recruitment and the muscle size but the ever system also matters.
The lever system will comprise some force, resistance, lever arms, and a fulcrum. We have three classes of these levers found throughout the body:
A class 1 lever will have the fulcrum between the force and the load. One common example is the teeter-totter.
A class 2 lever is one that has a load between the force and the fulcrum. One example would be a wheelbarrow.
A class 3 lever is one that has the pull between the load and the fulcrum. This is the most common lever system that we find in the human body. An example of this lever would be like lifting a shovel.
Functional Anatomy
Anatomy is usually taught in isolated and fragmented parts where the body is mapped and there are simple answers regarding the structures and categories of each component.
Looking at the body in isolated ways fails to bring the idea of the complex human movement system and how it all works together.
The body’s daily function is seen to be a multidimensional and integrated system and not this series of independent processes that are thought of in studying anatomy.
Muscles can dominate certain planes of motion, and the central nervous system optimizes the selection of muscle synergies. Here are the different categories of muscles that we can have them in:
- Agonistic muscles will be the prime moving muscles that work to be the main part of a move. The gluteus maximus is the prime mover for the extension of the hip.
- Antagonistic muscles are the muscles that oppose the agonistic muscles and they act in the opposite direction to the prime movers. The psoas is a good example, as it is antagonistic to the gluteus maximus.
- The synergistic muscles will be the ones that assist our prime moving muscles during the functional movement patterns. An example of this is the hamstrings and the erector spinae being synergists for the glute max when doing the hip extension.
- The stabilizers are the muscles supporting or stabilizing the prime movers and the synergists for performing movement patterns. The muscles of the transverse abdominus, internal oblique, multifidus, and deep erector spinae will stabilize the LPHC when doing the functional movements and the prime movers are performing their functional activities.
Behavioral Properties of Muscles
The muscle is the only tissue in the human body that can produce a force.
Our skeletal muscles allow us to stay upright, move our limbs, and absorb the shock from external loads.
Our muscles will have four properties of their behavior:
- Extensibility
- Elasticity
- Irritability
- And the ability to develop tension
Make sure to review the diagrams and the tables relating to the musculature. Here there will be all the important information regarding the origin, insertion, isolated function, integrated function, and other relevant information specific to the muscles.
Motor Behavior
Motor behavior is the human movement system’s response to internal and external environmental stimuli.
The study of this motor behavior looks at the way in which the nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems interact for the production of skilled movement using sensory information from the external and internal environments.
Motor behavior is the collective study of motor control, learning, and development.
Motor control is how the central nervous system integrates internal and external sensory information with previous experience to produce a motor response.
Motor learning integrates motor control processes with practice and experience, leading to relatively permanent changes in the body’s ability to produce skilled movement.
Motor development is the change in motor skill behavior over time and throughout our lifetime.
Sensory information
Sensory information is the data that the central nervous system receives from sensory receptors for us to determine things like the body’s position in space and the orientation of limbs as well as the information from the environment, temperature, and texture.
This sensory information protects the body from harm and allows us to acquire and refine skills through sensory sensations and perceptions.
The body will use sensory information in three different ways:
- Sensory information provides information regarding the body’s orientation in space to the environment and itself before, during, and after the movement.
- Sensory information assists in planning and manipulating movement action plans. This may happen at the spinal level as a reflex or at the cerebellum, where the actual performance is compared to that of the intended movement.
- Sensory information facilitates learning new skills and relearning the patterns of movement that exist but may have become more dysfunctional.
Proprioception
This is one form of sensory information that uses the mechanoreceptors to provide information about the static and dynamic positions, movements, and sensations relating to muscle force and movement.
Proprioception is defined as the cumulative neural input from sensory afferents to the central nervous system.
Our proprioception is altered following injuries, with many of the receptors located at and around the joints.
Muscle Synergies
This is one of the more important concepts of motor control and the central nervous system recruiting in groups known as synergies.
This allows movement to be simplified more so and operate as functional units.
Sensorimotor Integration
This is the ability of the central nervous system to gather and interpret sensory information for the execution of the proper motor response.
Tyler Read
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