LUSAKA APEX MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Introduction biomechanics
(Linear kinetics and kinematics)

BY B. CHONGO
Objectives
At the end of the lecture students must be
able to:
1. Define and state linear kinetics and
kinematics
2. State the laws of motion
3. Find out the resultant forces
4. Describe angular kinematics
Linear kinetics
Linear forces
 Are forces acting in a straight line
 When all the forces occur along the same action
line such forces may produce a tension or
compression effect
 When all the forces are coplanar or parallel but do
not share the same action point, they produce a
rotator effect. In a force couple, the forces are
parallel and equal in magnitude but in opposite
directions
 Concurrent forces occurs when all the forces meet
at the same action point.
Composition of forces
 Many forces act o the human body or segment its
important to known the final effect of all the forces or
the resultant force. This is called composition of the
forces. This expressed by the equation R = F1+
F2+F3....+Fn
Basic principles

All these different forces, F1, F2, F3 can be

added up to know the resultant force, [Link]
resultant force is the single force that has the
same effect on the object as all the individual
forces acting together.
Resultant forces
 refers to the reduction of a system of forces
acting on a body to a single force.
 The choice of the point of application of the force
determines the associated torque or path in
which the body will move.
 The term resultant force should be understood to
refer to both the forces and torques acting on a
rigid body, which is why some use the term
resultant force-torque.
 The resultant force, or resultant force-torque,
fully replaces the effects of all forces on the
motion of the rigid body they act upon.
Basic principles
If the resultant force acting on an object is ZERO
then the force system is in equilibrium;
 the object will remain stationary if it was stationary
when the resultant force became zero
 Move at a constant (steady) speed in a straight line if it
was moving when the resultant force became zero
 If the resultant force acting on a stationary object is
zero, the object will remain stationary.
 If the resultant force acting on a moving object is zero,
the object will carry on moving at the same speed in
the same direction (i.e. at constant velocity).
Basic principles
If the resultant force acting on an object is
NOT ZERO then;
 the object will accelerate or decelerate or change
direction (speed up or slow down)
 If the forces are different in magnitude and
direction, the body will move in the direction of the
lesser force if its a push and towards the greater
force if it is a pull
 With linear forces and parallel forces simple additions
are used or vectors may be used
 Force analysis for concurrent forces which act at the
same point but at different angles, three methods may
be used
1. The parallelogram
2. The triangle method
3. trigonometry
Force analysis
Two methods are used
 The algebraic
 and the graphic
The parallelogram method
 Only used when two forces are applied to the same
point simultaneously such as the action of the anterior
and posterior deltoid fibres
The triangle method
 The vectors are drawn to scale
 The first representing the first force and the second
representing the second force to scale and directions of
the two forces.
 The second vector is joined to the first. The third
vector joins the beginning of the first to the tip of the
last
 This is also called the polygon method
The trigonometric method
 Can be used if the value of the angle between the
vectors of the forces is [Link] method gives the
algebraic method
 In concurrent forces forming right angles triangle used
the Pythagoras theorem formula
Basic principles
linear kinetics
momentum
 Momentum is a vector quantity which is
the product of the mass and the velocity
(Ma)
 Momentum is the amount of movement
that a body has
 Momentum expresses how its difficult to
stop the moving body.
Action and Reaction forces
 Forces always occur in pairs. One cannot apply
a force to a system without the system
applying a force back out (Newton's third law
of motion)
 However when these other forces act on the
earth (such as the force of gravity and
reaction forces on the ground) we can ignore
their effect on the earth.
We also often talk about applying an
external force and in this case we simply
do not care what happens to the object
that is applying the force.
 Generally the object is either firmly
attached to the ground or sufficiently
massive that its movements are negligible.
Work, Power and Energy
 Newton’s equations are not the only way of
calculating forces and movements.
 We can also use the principle of conservation
of energy.
 In some situations we know the energy
transformation that happens during an event
and can use this to calculate the outcome.
Work-
 when one transfers energy from oneself to an
object one does work on that object.
 If the force is constant and acting in the
direction of the displacement we can use the
equation:
W= Fs where: W = work done(J), F =
magnitude of the force (N), s= magnitude of
displacement (m)
 Work is measured in Joules (or Newton
meters), and occasionally measured in calories
(one calorie is 4.2J).
 Note that work is a scalar quantity.
Work
 When a force e.g arising from muscle contraction
moves a load through a distance, mechanical work is
said to have been done. This is expressed by the formula
W = Fd
 Work is done by muscles when they shorten to move a
body segment. This is said to be positive work but when
muscles are lengthening, work is being done on them by
an external force e.g. a spring. This is negative work
Energy
 Capacity to do work.
 If work is done on an object it gains
energy. If an object does work it loses
energy.
 Energy is measured in Joules just like
work and doing work transforms energy
from one form to another.
 There are lots of forms of energy but two
are important in biomechanics.
1. Kinetic energy-
 energy possessed by objects in motion. A
moving object is able to do work and in doing
so it will slow down and one needs to do
work on an object to speed it up.
 The amount of energy a moving object has
depends on its mass and the square of its
velocity.
[Link]- energy
 that an object possesses due to its position or
shape. There are two types commonly
encountered in biomechanics.
2A. Gravitational potential energy depends
on the position of an object in the earth’s
gravitational field: objects that are high up can
do work by allowing themselves to move
downwards.
2B. Strain energy- energy stored by elastic
deformation of an object. It takes work to
stretch a spring and work will be performed if
a spring is allowed to relax. The work depends
on the force required to perform the shape
change and this depends on the properties of
the material
Power
 This is defined as the rate of doing work and
is measured in Watts or Joules per second. It
is a scalar quantity. The equation for average
power is: P= w/t, where; P= power(W), w=
work(J), t= time(s).
 It is also measured instantaneously as the
product of force and velocity if they are both
acting in the same direction. Thus; P= Fv,
where; P= power(W), F= magnitude of
force(N), v= magnitude of velocity(ms⁻¹).
Weight
 Is the amount of gravitational force exerted on a
body. Since weight is a force its units are kilograms
or Newtons. Mass and weight are directly
proportional. It is also characterized by magnitude,
direction and point of application.
Pressure
 Is the amount of force acting over a given area (p =
F/A)). Units are N/cm2 in the metric system. One
Pascal represents 1 Newton/square meter (Pa =
N/m2). The smaller the area the more the pressure
exerted.
Velocity, Speed, and Motion
 Velocity is the rate of motion in a specific direction.
Average speed is described as a measure of distance
divided by time. Velocity can be constant, or it can
change (acceleration). Speed with a direction is velocity.
 Velocity is a vector measurement because it has an
amount and a direction. Speed is only an amount (a
scalar). Speed doesn't tell the whole story.
 When velocity is changing, the word acceleration is
used. Acceleration is also a [Link] speed up if the
acceleration and velocity point in the same direction.
You slow down (also referred to as decelerating) if
the acceleration and velocity point in opposite
directions. When you accelerate or decelerate, you
change your velocity by a specific amount over a specific
amount of time.
 Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity per time
Newton's Three Laws of Motion.
 The first law says that an object at rest tends to stay at
rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion, with
the same direction and speed unless a force acts on it.
Second Law
 The second law says that the acceleration of an object
produced by a net (total) applied force is directly related
to the magnitude of the force, the same direction as the
force, and inversely related to the mass of the object.
 The second law shows that if you exert the same
force on two objects of different masses, you will get
different acceleration.
 The acceleration on the smaller mass will be greater
(more noticeable). The acceleration of a 10 Newton
force on a baseball would be much greater than the
acceleration of a truck if the same force is applied.
The difference in effect (acceleration) is entirely due
to the difference in their masses.
Third Law
 The third law says that for every action (force) there is an
equal and opposite reaction (force).
 Forces always occur in pairs. One cannot apply a force
to a system without the system applying a force back
out
 However when these other forces act on the earth
(such as the force of gravity and reaction forces on the
ground) we can ignore their effect on the earth.
 Newton’s laws all assume that the mass of an object is at a
single point in space. This is not true but any object or
system of linked objects can be considered as being
concentrated at a single point in space where linear motion is
concerned. This point is the centre of mass of an
object.
 In regular shaped objects its location is usually obvious (it is at
the centre of a sphere for example) but its location is more
difficult to work out in irregular objects such as human limbs.
Velocity, Speed, and Motion
 Velocity is the rate of motion in a specific direction.
Average speed is described as a measure of distance
divided by time. Velocity can be constant, or it can
change (acceleration). Speed with a direction is velocity.
 Velocity is a vector measurement because it has an
amount and a direction. Speed is only an amount (a
scalar). Speed doesn't tell the whole story.
 When velocity is changing, the word acceleration is
used. Acceleration is also a [Link] speed up if the
acceleration and velocity point in the same direction.
You slow down (also referred to as decelerating) if
the acceleration and velocity point in opposite
directions. When you accelerate or decelerate, you
change your velocity by a specific amount over a specific
amount of time.
 Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity per time
Centre of Mass
 Newton’s laws all assume that the mass of an
object is at a single point in space. This is not
true but any object or system of linked
objects can be considered as being
concentrated at a single point in space where
linear motion is concerned. This point is the
centre of mass of an object.
 It can be obtained experimentally by
hanging the segment from a number of
different points.
 The centre of mass is always directly
vertically below the suspension point so a
line can be draw vertically from the
suspension point. This is repeated for a
number of suspension points and the
centre of gravity is where the lines cross.
Linear kinematics
Linear kinematics
 Describes the course a moving body
follows where a line can be drawn
Translation;
 all parts of a body move in a straight line. All the
parts of the body move the same distance
 Rectilinear- Straight-line motion is also called
rectilinear motion. All points of the body move
in a straight line and there is no orientation
change of the individual components (no
rotation).
Linear kinematics
 Curvilinear- This is an extension of
rectilinear motion. The object’s
orientation still does not change but the
direction of motion does change.
 Usually the trajectory starts off going
upwards and forwards and gradually
changes to going downwards and
forwards.
Linear kinematics

Curvilinear is usually applied to projectile

objects
determinants of the trajectory are:
 Angle of projection
 force of projection
 Height of projection
The displacement is the difference
between the projection height and the
final position
Linear kinematics
[Link]
Linear kinematics

General shapes of trajectories

 Perfectly vertical
 Parabolic
 Perfectly horizontal
 Linear kinematics

[Link]
Angular Kinematics
Angular Kinematics

 Angular Position- the angle that an object

is in relation to another object. If the
other object is immovable (e.g. earth)
this is an absolute angle. If both objects
are moveable then the angle is relative.
 In mechanics angles are generally
measured anticlockwise from the
horizontal. This is different from map
bearings which are measured clockwise
from North (which is usually vertical).
Angular displacement
 is the vector quantity representing the
change in angular position of an object.
Angular displacements are measured in
degrees
 The usual convention to keep directions
straight and be consistent with our 2D
linear kinematic calculations is to consider
counterclockwise rotations as positive.
 Angular displacement measured
with a goniometer is one way to
measure static flexibility.
Angular Kinematics

 Angular motion occurs when all parts of

the object move through the same angle
but do not undergo the same
displacement.
 Angular motion is about an axis of
rotation i.e. a line perpendicular to the
plane in which the rotation occurs.
 An understanding of angular
mechanics is critical to appreciation of
human movement
Angular Kinematics

Angular and linear kinematics

 In human movement both angular and
translatory movements occur. Usually a
combination of angular movements at
different joints leads to translatory
movement or displacement.
 Translatory movement in humans is
accomplished through angular movements
 Torques and Moments
Angular/ linear kinetics and angular /linear
kinetics
 Most movements in the human body are
rotational. Limb segments rotate at joints and
muscles apply torques and the skeleton acts
as a system of levers.
 Hence the need to know about rotational
movements. They are very similar to linear
movements with rotational analogues for the
quantities measured for linear motion.
 A complete description of movement of a
body needs to include both linear and
rotational components although they can
be treated separately.
 In life there is a coordinated combination
of linear and angular kinetics (energies)
that result in angular and linear motions
(displacements)
Biomechanics
Rationale for biomechanics in
physiotherapy
 Facilitate assessment and examination
 Diagnosis of divergence from the norm
 Promotion of efficiency and effectiveness
of movement
 Prevention of injury and fatigue
 Tool in rehabilitation
 Monitoring and evaluating progress
The end