LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of the course, it is expected that students should be able to:

• Identify the fundamental mechanical principles involved in human movement
• Apply biomechanical principles to improve performance and/or reduce injury
• Apply biomechanical principles to understand movement patterns that characterize different stages of life.
• Know the instrument available to evaluate kinetic and kinematic performance
• Perform basic 2D biomechanical analysis of different human movements from video
• Summarize and interpret findings from articles published in biomechanics journals

TEACHING METHODS

Frontal classes and activities in the movement analysis lab

Students are requested to engage in various activities, including motion analysis from video sequences, lecturing and develop small projects, both individually and as teams.

Homework will be assigned in class, but these assignments are primarily intended as a way for the students to practice solving problems (they do not count towards the grade). However, it is in  the student's best interest to execute these assignments since questions at the exam will be based on similar concepts.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is designed to provide an introduction to concepts and principles related to biomechanics – with emphasis on understanding whole body movements. These concepts are meant to provide the basis of understanding the biomechanics of physical activity. A multidisciplinary approach will be used and will include elements from anatomy, physiology, physics and engineering.  Applications of these concepts in fields such as athletic training, physical therapy, sports science, and human factors will be discussed. A specific focus will be maintained on the specific movement patterns related to different stages of life (infants, adults, elderly).

- Basic principles of biomechanics

- Analysis movements, force and posture (equilibrium) and their  neural control (muscle activities etc) at different stages of life and during different sport activities/exercises.

- Instrumentation for measuring kinetic and kinematic performance

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Materials and  readings will be distributed via the course website.

Additional readings:

1. Giovanni Legnani e Giacomo Palmieri. "Fondamenti di Meccanica e Biomeccanica del Movimento",2016. Città Studi Edizioni.
2. Boccardi, Cinesiologia , società editrice Univers
3. Cappello, A. Cappozzo, P. di Prampero, “Bioingegneria della postura e del movimento”, Patron Editore
4. McGinnis, P. (2013). Biomechanics of Sport and Exercise With Web Resource and MaxTRAQ 2D Software Access (3rd ed.). Champaign, P.Grimshaw, A. Lees, N. Fowler, A. Burde, “Sport and Exercise Biomechanics”, Taylor & Francis
5. Hall, S. (2012). Basic Biomechanics (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
6. Hamill, J., & Knutzen, K. (2008). Biomechanical Basis of Human Movement (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
7. Knudson, D. (2007). Fundamentals of Biomechanics (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
8. Nordin, M., & Frankel, V. (2012). Basic Biomechanics of the Musculoskeletal System (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
9. Ozkaya, N., Nordin, M., Goldsheyder, D., & Leger, D. Fundamentals of Biomechanics: Equilibrium, motion, and deformation (3rd ed). New York, NY: Springer