BIOMECHANICS I

BME 314
1. INTRODUCTION TO
BIOMECHANICS
DR. O.A. ADELEY E
 INTRODUCTION TO BIOMECHANICS

• Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of

the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from
whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the
methods of mechanics.
• Biomechanics is defined as mechanics applied to biology, and
mechanics itself is the response of bodies to forces or displacements.
• Biomechanics applies mechanical principles to the human body in
order to understand the mechanical influences on bone and joint
health.
 INTRODUCTION TO BIOMECHANICS

• Developments in the field of biomechanics have improved our

understanding of normal and pathologic gait, mechanics of
neuromuscular control, and mechanics of growth and form.
• This knowledge has contributed to the development of medical
diagnostic and treatment procedures.
• It has provided the basis for the design and manufacture of medical
implants and orthotic devices and has enhanced rehabilitation
therapy practices.
• Biomechanics has also been used to improve human performance in
the workplace and in athletic competition.
 HISTORY OF BIOMECHANICS
Five (5) Persons
• Aristotle (Greek Philosopher)
• Aristotle was fascinated by anatomy and structure of living
things. Aristotle might be considered the first biomechanician. He
wrote the first book called "De Motu Animalium" - On the
Movement of Animals.
• He saw animals' bodies as mechanical systems and what
causes these movements.

• Galen (Anatomist)
• The second century anatomist, Galen, wrote his monumental
work, On the Function of the Parts (meaning the parts of the
human body) as the world's standard medical text for the
next 1,400 years.
 HISTORY OF BIOMECHANICS
Five (5) Persons
• Leonardo Da Vinci (Artist – Painter of “The Last Supper)
• He had an understanding of components of force vectors, friction
coefficients, and the acceleration of falling objects, and had a
glimmering of Newton's 3rd law. By studying anatomy in the
context of mechanics, da Vinci also gained some insight into
biomechanics. He analyzed muscle forces as acting along lines
connecting origins and insertions and studied joint function
• Da Vinci tended to mimic some animal features in his
machines. For example, he studied the flight of birds to find
means by which humans could fly; and because horses were
the principal source of mechanical power in that time, he
studied their muscular systems to design machines that
would better benefit from the forces applied by this animal.
 HISTORY OF BIOMECHANICS
Five (5) Persons
• Galileo Galilei (Astronomer, Physicist, & Engineer)
• Galileo Galilei, the father of mechanics and part time
biomechanic made important contributions to biomechanics. He
was particularly aware of the mechanical aspects of bone
structure and the basic principles of allometry.

• Galileo Galilei was interested in the strength of bones and

suggested that bones are hollow because this affords
maximum strength with minimum weight. He noted that
animals' bone masses increased disproportionately to their size.
 HISTORY OF BIOMECHANICS
Five (5) Persons

• Borelli
• Borelli embraced this idea and studied walking, running,
jumping, the flight of birds, the swimming of fish, and even
the piston action of the heart within a mechanical framework.
He could determine the position of the human center of gravity,
calculate and measured inspired and expired air volumes, and
showed that inspiration is muscle-driven and expiration is due to
tissue elasticity.
• Borelli was the first to understand that the levers of the
musculoskeletal system magnify motion rather than force, so
that muscles must produce much larger forces than those
resisting the motion.
 APPLICATIONS OF BIOMECHANICS
Ten (10) Areas of Applications
Sports Biomechanics –
Subfield of biomechanics where the laws of mechanics are applied in
order to gain a greater understanding of athletic performance through
mathematical modeling, computer simulation and measurement.

Locomotion and Gait -

Walking pattern analysis. Locomotion of humans and animals.

Fluid Biomechanics -
The study of the fundamentals of biological fluid flow, has been
recognized to be extremely important for the understanding of how
changes in the flow behavior within living tissue maybe affect both
the fluid and the tissue.
 APPLICATIONS OF BIOMECHANICS
Ten (10) Areas of Applications
Cardiovascular Biomechanics –
The Cardiovascular Biomechanics group performs research in the
field of computational and experimental biomechanical analysis of
the cardiovascular system.

Ergonomics –
Ergonomics applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in
order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.
Ergonomics is the study of people while they use equipment in
specific environments to perform certain tasks. Ergonomics seeks to
minimize adverse effects of the environment upon people and thus to
enable each person to maximize his or her contribution to a given job.
 APPLICATIONS OF BIOMECHANICS
Ten (10) Areas of Applications
Rehabilitation –
Rehabilitation biomechanics is a field of study that addresses the
impact of disability and the effectiveness of rehabilitation therapies
and interventions on human performance. Engineering and physics
principles are applied to evaluate and analyze body movement and
manipulation.

Plant Biomechanics –
Interdisciplinary science describing behavior of plants subjected to
forces and displacements at the level of molecules, cells, tissues,
organs, whole organisms, and ecosystems.
 APPLICATIONS OF BIOMECHANICS
Ten (10) Areas of Applications
Forensics –
Forensic biomechanics is the application of biomechanical engineering
science to litigation where biomechanical experts determine whether an
accident was the cause of an alleged injury.

Implant Designing –
Designing of orthotic and prosthetic devices, heart valves, etc

Biomechatronics –
Biomechatronics is an applied interdisciplinary science that aims to
integrate biology, mechanics, and electronics. It also encompasses the
fields of robotics and neuroscience. Biomechatronic devices encompass a
wide range of applications from the development of prosthetic limbs to
engineering solutions concerning respiration, vision, and the cardiovascular
system.
 FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOMECHANICS
Biomechanics Has 9 Fundamental Principles
Force Motion Principle –
Unbalanced forces are acting on our bodies or objects when we either create
or modify movement.
Free-body diagram is a simplified model of any system or object drawn
with the significant forces acting on the object.

Force –
Time Principle It is not only the amount of force that can increase the
motion of an object; the amount of time over which force can be applied
also affects the resulting motion.

Range of Motion –
Overall motion used in a movement and can be specified by linear or
angular motion of the body segments.
 FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOMECHANICS
Biomechanics Has 9 Fundamental Principles

Balance
Person's ability to control their body position relative to some base of
support.
Stability and mobility ofbody postures are inversely related

Coordination Continuum
How the muscle actions and body segment motions are timed in a human
movement.
Two strategies -simultaneous/ sequential can be viewed as a continuum,

Segmental Interaction
Forces acting in a system of linked rigid bodies can be transferred through
the links and joints.
 FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOMECHANICS
Biomechanics Has 9 Fundamental Principles

Optimal Projection
Optimal range of projection angles for a specific goal.

Spin
Rotations imparted to projectiles.
Lift force is used to create a curve or to counter gravity, which affects
the trajectory and bounce of the ball.

Inertia
Property of all objects to resist changes in their state of motion.
Linear and angular measures of inertia are mass (m) and moment of
inertia (I).
 ELEMENTS OF BIOMECHANICS
• Dynamics: Studying systems that are in motion with acceleration
and deceleration

• Kinematics: Describing the effect of forces on a system, motion

patterns including linear and angular changes in velocity over time
as well as position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration are
studied.

• Kinetics: Studying what causes motion, the forces, and moments at

work

• Statics: Studying systems that are in equilibrium, either at rest or

moving at a constant velocity
 REVIEWS OF NEWTON’S LAWS OF
MOTIONS
• Newton’s three laws of motion are the 3 physical laws
• Newton’s First Law (Law of Inertia)
• An object at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains in motion at a
constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force. laws of motion laid
the foundation for classical mechanics. These laws explain the relation
between forces and the body on which these forces acted upon

• Newton’s 1st law of motion deals with the inertia property of matter. Objects
do not move by their own unless someone moves them.
 REVIEWS OF NEWTON’S LAWS OF
MOTIONS
• Newton’s Second Law ( Law of Momentum or Law of
Acceleration)
• Newton's second law shows how the forces that create motion
(kinetics) are linked to the motion (kinematics).
• It is represented as F = ma. This is the law of acceleration, which
describes motion (acceleration) for any instant in time. It states that
the acceleration an object experiences is proportional to the resultant
force, is in the same direction, and is inversely proportional to the
mass. If the net force were doubled, the acceleration of the object
would be twice as large. Similarly, if the mass of the object were
doubled, its acceleration would be half as large.
 REVIEWS OF NEWTON’S LAWS OF
MOTIONS
• Newton’s Third Law
• For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
• The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of
forces acting on the two interacting objects. The direction of the
force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the
• force on the second object. Forces always come in pairs - equal and
opposite action-reaction force pairs.
EXERCISES