ANGULAR

KINEMATICS OF
CON
TENT
 Measuring body angles
 Angular kinematics Relationships
 Relationship between Linear and Angular motion
 Distinguish angular motion from rectilinear and curvilinear motion
 Discuss the relationships among angular kinematic variables
 Correctly associate angular kinematic quantities with their units of
measure
 Explain the relationships between angular and linear displacement, angular
and linear velocity, and angular and linear acceleration
 Solve quantitative problems involving angular kinematic quantities and
the relationships between angular and linear kinematic quantities
 Why is a driver longer than a 9-iron?
 Why do batters slide their hands up the handle of the bat to lay
down a bunt but not to drive the ball?
 How does the angular motion of the discus or hammer during
windup relate to linear motion of the implement after
release?

These questions relate to angular motion, or rotational motion

around an axis.
The axis of rotation is a line, real or imaginary, oriented
perpendicular to the plane in which the rotation occurs, like the
axle for wheels of a cart.
OBSERVING THE
ANGULAR
KINEMATICS
 OBSERVING THE ANGULAR
KINEMATICS OF
HUMAN
Most volitional human MOVEMENT
movement involves
 Rotation of one or more body segments around the joints at which
they articulate
Translation of the body as a whole during gait occurs by,
 Rotational motions taking place at the hip, knee, and ankle around
imaginary mediolateral axes
During the performance of jumping jacks,
 Both the arms and the legs rotate around imaginary antero posterior
axes
passing through the shoulder and hip joints.
The angular motion of sport implements such
as golf clubs,
 baseball bats,
 and hockey sticks,
 as well as household and garden tools, is also often of interest

Clinicians or coaches analyze human movement on

visual observation
 Which is actually the angular kinematics of human
movement

Than how experienced analyst can make inferences about the

coordination of muscle activity…???
MEASURING
ANGLES
 MEASURING
ANGLES
An angle is composed of two sides that intersect at a vertex
Quantitative kinematic analysis can be achieved by;
 projecting filmed images of the human body onto a piece of paper, with joint centers then
marked with dots and the dots connected with lines representing the longitudinal axes of the body
segments (Fig 11-1).

A protractor can be used to make hand measurements of angles

of interest from this representation, with the joint centers forming the vertices
of the angles between adjacent body segments
 Videos and films of human movement can also be analyzed
 Usually with computer software from stick figure representations of
the human
body constructed in computer memory
RELATIVE VERSUS
ABSOLUTE ANGLES
Relative angle angle at a joint formed between the
longitudinal axes of adjacent body segments
Assessing angle at a joint involves
 Measuring the angle of one body segment relative to the other body
segment articulating at the joint
Relative angle at the knee is the angle formed between the longitudinal
axis of the thigh and the longitudinal axis of the lower leg (fig 11-2).
When joint rom is quantified, it is the relative joint angle that is measured.
Convention used for measuring relative joint angles…???
 is that in anatomical reference position, all joint angles are at
0°
 When leg is abducted at hip, the ROM in abduction is
likewise measured from 0° in anatomical reference position
Joint motion is then measured directionally
 For example, when the extended arm is elevated 30° in front of the
body in the
sagittal plane, the arm is in 30° of flexion at the shoulder

Relative angles should consistently be measured on the same side of

a given joint
The straight, fully extended position at a joint is regarded as 0°
 Absolute angle angular orientation of a body segment with
respect to a fixed line of reference
Other angles of interest are often the orientations of the body segments
themselves
The angle of inclination of a body segment, referred to as its absolute angle,
is measured with respect to an absolute reference line, usually either horizontal or
vertical
 When trunk is in flexion, angle of inclination of trunk directly affects the amount of force that
must be generated by the trunk extensor muscles to support the trunk in the position assumed

Fig 11-3 shows quantification of segment angles with respect to the right horizontal
Absolute angles should consistently be measured in the same direction
from a single reference—either horizontal or vertical
TOOLS FOR MEASURING
BODY ANGLES
Goniometers are commonly used by clinicians for direct measurement of relative joint angles
on a
live human subject
 A goniometer is essentially a protractor with two long arms attached
 One arm is fixed so that it extends from the protractor at an angle of 0°
 other arm extends from the center of the protractor and is free to rotate
 Center of protractor is aligned over the joint center,
 two arms are aligned over the longitudinal axes of the two body segments that connect at the joint
 The angle at the joint is then read at the intersection of the freely rotating arm and the protractor scale

The accuracy of the reading depends on the accuracy of the positioning of the goniometer.
Knowledge of the underlying joint anatomy is essential for proper location of the joint center
of rotation.
Placing marks on the skin for located center of rotation at the joint and the longitudinal
axes of the body segments before aligning the goniometer is sometimes helpful…???
 INSTANT CENTER OF
ROTATION
Instant center precisely located center of rotation at a joint
at a given instant in time
Quantification of joint angles is complicated b/c
 Joint motion is often accompanied by displacement of one bone with respect to
articulating bone at joint
 This phenomenon is caused by normal asymmetries in the shapes of the articulating
bone surfaces
 As the tibiofemoral joint, at which medial rotation and anterior displacement of
the femur on the tibial plateau accompany flexion (fig 11-4).
 As a result, the location of the exact center of rotation at the
joint changes slightly when the joint angle changes.
 Center of rotation at a given joint angle, or at a given instant in
time during a dynamic movement, is instant center
The exact location of the instant center for a given joint may be
determined through measurements taken from
roentgenograms (X-rays),
 which are usually taken at 10° intervals throughout the ROM at joint

The instant center at the tibiofemoral joint of the knee shifts

during angular movement at the knee due to the ellipsoid
shapes of the femoral condyles
ANGULAR
KINEMATIC
RELATIONSH
ANGULAR KINEMATIC
RELATIONSHIPS
The interrelationships among angular kinematic quantities are similar
to those linear kinematic quantities
Although the units of measure associated with the angular kinematic
quantities are different from those used with their linear counterparts,
 relationships among angular units also parallel those present among linear units
 ANGULAR DISTANCE AND
ADISPLACEMENT
pendulum swinging back and forth from a point of support
rotating around an axis passing
 It is perpendicular to the plane of motion
through its point of support
 If it swings through an arc of 60°, it has swung through an angular distance of 60°
 If it swings back through 60° to its original position, it has traveled an angular distance totaling
120° (60°+60°)
Angular distance is measured as the sum of all angular changes undergone by
a rotating body
Same procedure used for human body
 If the angle at the elbow joint changes from 90° to 160° during the flexion phase of a forearm curl
exercise, the angular distance covered is 70°
 If the extension phase of the curl returns its original position of 90°, an additional 70° have been covered,
 resulting in a total angular distance of 140° for the complete curl
 If 10 curls are performed, the angular distance transcribed at the elbow is 1400° (10 *140°)
Angular displacement assessed as difference in the
initial and final positions of the moving body

 If the angle at the knee of the support leg changes from 5° to 12°
during the initial support phase of a running stride,
 Angular distance and the angular displacement at knee 7°
 If extension occurs at the knee, returning the joint to its original
5° position
 Angular distance totals 14° (7°+7°),
 But angular displacement is 0°, because the final position of the joint
is the same
as its original position.
 Relationship b/w angular distance and angular displacement in fig
11-5.
Angular displacement is defined by;
 Magnitude
 And direction

Rotation observed from a side view occurs in either a clockwise or

a counterclockwise direction;
 Counterclockwise direction is conventionally designated as positive
(+)
 Clockwise direction as negative (-)
 (fig 11-6). With the human body, it is also appropriate to indicate the direction of angular
displacement with joint-related terminology such as flexion or abduction.
However, there is no set relationship b/w positive (counterclockwise)
direction and
either flexion or extension or any other movement at a joint
 B/c when viewed from one side, flexion at a given joint such as the hip is positive, but when
viewed from the opposite side it is negative
Biomechanists do motion capture studies with computer
linked cameras,
 Software quantifies joint motions in either positive or
negative directions
 Researcher must translate these values into flexion/extension or other
joint motions depending on the camera view.
Three units of measure are commonly used to represent angular
distance and angular displacement
Most familiar of these units is the degree
 A complete circle of rotation transcribes an arc of 360°
 An arc of 180° subtends a straight line
 90° forms a right angle between perpendicular lines (fig 11-7)
Another unit of angular measure sometimes used in biomechanical analyses is the
radian
 A line connecting the center of a circle to any point on the circumference of the circle is a radius

A radian is defined as the size of the angle subtended at the center of a

circle by an arc equal in length to the radius of the circle (Fig 11-8).
 One complete circle is an arc of 2∏ radians, or 360°
 360° divided by 2 ∏ is 57.3°,
 one radian is equivalent to 57.3°.

B/c a radian is much larger than a degree, it is a more convenient unit for the
representation of extremely large angular distances or displacements.
Radians are often quantified in multiples of pi (∏)
Pi is a mathematical constant equal to approximately 3.14, which is the ratio
of the
circumference to the diameter of a circle
third unit sometimes used to quantify angular distance
or displacement is the revolution
One revolution transcribes an arc equal to a circle
 Dives and some gymnastic skills are often described by the number of
revolutions the human body undergoes during their execution
 The one-and-a-half forward somersault dive is a descriptive example

Fig 11-9 illustrates the way in which degrees,

radians, and revolutions compare as units of
angular measure.
ANGULAR SPEED AND
VELOCITY
Angular speed is a scalar quantity and is defined as the angular distance covered
divided by the time interval over which the motion occurred:
 Because angular velocity is based on, angular velocity it must
include an identification of the direction (clockwise or
counterclockwise) in which the angular displacement on which it is
based occurred
Units of angular speed and angular velocity are;
 Units of angular distance or angular displacement divided
by units of time
The unit of time most commonly used is the second
 Units of angular speed and angular velocity are;
 Degrees per second (deg/s),
 Radians per second (rad/s),
 Revolutions per second (rev/s),
 And revolutions per minute (rpm).
ANGULAR
ACCELERATION
Angular acceleration is the rate of change in angular velocity, or the change in
angular velocity occurring over a given time
Just as with linear acceleration, angular acceleration may be
 Positive,
 Negative,
 Or zero.
When angular acceleration is zero, angular velocity is constant
Positive angular acceleration may indicate
 Either increasing angular velocity in the positive direction
 Or decreasing angular velocity in the negative direction

Similarly, a negative value of angular acceleration may represent

 Either decreasing angular velocity in the positive direction
 Or increasing angular velocity in the negative direction.

Units of angular acceleration are units of angular velocity divided by units of

time
 Common examples are degrees per second squared (deg/s2),
 Radians per second squared (rad/s2),
 And revolutions per second squared (rev/s2).

Units of angular and linear kinematic quantities are compared in table 11-1.
 ANGULAR MOTION
VECTORS
Representing angular quantities using symbols;
Such as curved arrows would be impractical,
Angular quantities are represented with conventional straight vectors, using what
is called the right hand rule
 According to this rule, when the fingers of the right hand are curled in the
direction
of an angular motion,
 The vector used to represent the motion is oriented perpendicular to the

plane of rotation, in the direction the extended thumb points (fig 11-14)
 The magnitude of the quantity may be indicated through proportionality to the
vector’s length
AVERAGE VERSUS
INSTANTANEOUS ANGULAR
QUANTITIES
Angular speed, velocity, and acceleration may be calculated as
instantaneous or average values, depending on the length of the
time interval selected

 The instantaneous angular velocity of a baseball bat at the instant of

contact with a ball is typically of greater interest than the average angular
velocity of the swing,
 B/c the former directly affects the resultant velocity of the ball
RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN LINEAR
AND ANGULAR
LINEAR AND ANGULAR
The greater the radius is between a given point on a rotating body and the axis of rotation,
DISPLACEMENT
 the greater is the linear distance undergone by that point during an angular motion (Fig 11-15)
 This observation is expressed in the form of a simple equation:

For this relationship to be valid, two conditions must be met:

(a) The linear distance and the radius of rotation must be quantified in the same units of
length,
(b) angular distance must be expressed in radians
When the radius of rotation (meters) is multiplied by angular displacement in radians, the result is
linear displacement in meters
Radians disappear on the right side of the equation in this case as the radian serves as a conversion
LINEAR AND ANGULAR
VELOCITY
Same type of relationship exists between the angular velocity of a rotating body and
the linear velocity of a point on that body at a give instant in time
The relationship is expressed as the following:

V=r w
 The linear (tangential) velocity of the point of interest is v,
 R is the radius of rotation for that point,
 And w is the angular velocity of the rotating body

For the equation to be valid, angular velocity must be expressed in radian-based units (typically rad/s),
and velocity must be expressed in the units of the radius of rotation divided by the appropriate units of
time
Radians are again used as a linear-angular conversion factor, and are not balanced on opposite sides of
the equals sign:
M/s= (m) (rad/s)
The use of radian-based units for conversions between linear and angular velocities is shown in
sample problem 11.2.
Little leaguers often select long
bats,
 Which increase potential radius of rotation if a ball is contacted,
 But are also too heavy for the young players to swing as quickly as
shorter, lighter bats
It is important to recognize that the linear velocity of a ball struck
by a bat, racket, or club is not identical to the linear velocity of the
contact point on the swinging implement.
Other factors, such as the directness of the hit and the
elasticity of the impact, also influence ball velocity
LINEAR AND ANGULAR
ACCELERATION
The acceleration of a body in angular motion may be resolved into
two perpendicular linear acceleration components
 These components are directed along and perpendicular to the path of angular motion at
any point in time (fig 11-17)

1- The component directed along the path of angular motion takes its
name from the term tangent
 A tangent is a line that touches, but does not cross, a curve at a single point
 The tangential component, known as TANGENTIAL ACCELERATION,
represents the change in linear speed for a body traveling on a curved path
Tangential acceleration component of acceleration of a body in angular
motion
directed along a tangent to the path of motion; represents change in linear
speed
When a ball is
thrown
 The ball follows a curved path as it is accelerated by the muscles of shoulder, elbow, and wrist
,
 Tangential component of ball acceleration represents rate of change in linear speed of ball

Because the speed of projection greatly affects a projectile’s range,

 Tangential velocity should be maximum just before ball release if the objective is to throw the
ball fast or far
 Once ball release occurs, tangential acceleration is zero, because thrower is no longer applying a
force

Relationship b/w tangential acceleration and angular acceleration is:

at = r
 Linear acceleration is at, r is the radius of rotation, is angular acceleration
andThe units of linear acceleration and the radius of rotation must
 be compatible, and angular
acceleration must be expressed in radian based units for the relationship to be
accurate
SUMM
ARY
An understanding of angular motion is an important part of the study of biomechanics,
because most volitional motion of the human body involves the rotation of bones
around imaginary axes of rotation passing through the joint centers at which the bones
articulate
The angular kinematic quantities— angular displacement, angular velocity, and angular
acceleration—possess the same interrelationships as their linear counterparts, with angular
displacement representing change in angular position, angular velocity defined as the rate of
change in angular position, and angular acceleration indicating the rate of change in
angular velocity during a given time
Depending on the selection of the time interval, either average or instantaneous values
of angular velocity and angular acceleration may be quantified
Angular kinematic variables may be quantified for the relative angle formed by the
longitudinal axes of two body segments articulating at a joint, or for the absolute angular
orientation of a single body segment with respect to a fixed reference line
Different instruments are available for direct measurement of angles on a human
subject