BIOMECHANICS

AND
SPORTS
BY SACHIN SHARMA
Meaning of Biomechanics
 Biomechanics is the combination of two words-
bio and mechanics. Bio means, something
pertaining to living beings or life, whereas
Mechanics is the branch of physics which studies
movement or motion of an object or body with
the help of mechanical principles. Thus, when
the study of mechanics is limited to living
structures and their function, especially the
human body, it is called biomechanics.
 Definitions of Sports
Biomechanics
 “The area of study between wherein
knowledge and methods of mechanics are
applied to the structure and function of the
living human system.”

 “Biomechanics is the science concerned with

the internal and external forces acting on a
human body and the effects produced by
these forces”.
Newton's Laws of Motion
SirIsaac Newton (1642-1727) was one of
the greatest scientists and
mathematicians that ever lived. Newton
came up with three general rules about
the movement of objects, which are now
known as Newton’s Three Laws of
Motion.
 Newton's First Law of Motion: Law
of Inertia
In simple words you can say ‘an object will stay at rest or
continue at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external
unbalanced force’. For example, the golf ball remains at rest until
it is struck by a golf club.

 the Law of Inertia essentially makes two important points:

(a) An object that is not moving will not move until a net force
acts upon it; and

(b) (b) An object that is in motion will not change its velocity
(acceleration) until a net force acts upon it.
 Newton's Second Law of Motion: Law of
Acceleration or Law of Resultant Force
 The second law states that, the rate of change of momentum of a
body is proportional to the resultant force acting on the body and
is in the same direction. The law defines a force to be equal to
change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time.

 Everyone knows that heavier objects require more force to move

the same distance as lighter objects. However, the Second Law
gives us an exact relationship between force, mass, and
acceleration.

 It can be expressed as a mathematical equation: F = MA

 FORCE = MASS times ACCELERATION
Newton's Third Law of Motion: Law of
Reaction or Law of Reciprocal Action
Force

Commonly paraphrased as; “For every

force (action) there is an equal, but
opposite, force (action)”, the Third law of
motion states: All forces occur in pairs, and
these two forces are equal in magnitude
and opposite in direction.
 VIDEO
Friction in Sports
 In sports, friction in human movement varies
widely depending on different sports because
each sport has its own movements and
surface of the playing field.
 For example, in Athletics (running), the
surface is a track and the movement is linear
or curvy linear.
 Types of Friction
 Inthe field of sports, we will study following types of
friction.
 [Link] friction: Static friction is friction that exists
before an object starts to slide. For example, When you
hit a cricket ball with a bat, or a tennis ball with racket,
or in rock climbing where hand and feet are static.
 2.
Kinetic or Sliding friction: Kinetic friction is friction
that is created when the object starts to slide. For
example, when an ice skater is skating, or friction
produced while rubbing hands.
 3. Rolling friction: Rolling friction is friction when
an object rolls on the surface. For example, a ball
bearing, any ball rolling on the ground.
 4. Fluid Friction (Air and Water resistance): Fluid
friction is friction when the movement of an
object or a person is hindered or meets
resistance from water or air. For example,
swimming, diving, sky diving, discuss and javelin
floating in air, high jump etc
 EQUILIBRIUM – DYNAMIC AND STATIC AND
CENTRE OF GRAVITY AND ITS APPLICATION
IN SPORTS
A body is said to be in equilibrium when all the forces acting
on it are counterbalanced by equal and opposite forces and
their sum becomes equal to zero.

 Based on the position of COG, equilibrium is divided into:

 1. Static Equilibrium: Equilibrium is achieved when the COG is
resting or in stable position, such as sitting, standing, etc.
 2. Dynamic Equilibrium: Equilibrium is achieved when the
COG is in motion, like running, doing cartwheels, and so on.
 Principles of Stability
 Principles of Stability What we call ‘balance’ in sports is another word
for ‘stability’. The degree of stability is influenced by the following
factors.
 1. Area of Base of Support: Stability is directly proportional to the area
of the base on which the body rests. If the base increases, stability
increases and vice versa. For example, a person standing with both
feet apart is more stable than a person standing with both feet
together. In sports like boxing, wrestling and weightlifting, the feet are
kept apart to cover a large base of support so that the player can
maintain his balance.
 2. Vertical Distance of the COG from the Centre of the Base of Support:
Stability is indirectly proportional to the vertical distance of the COG of
the body from the center of the base of support. The nearer the COG
to the center of the base of support, the more stable the body is. In
shot-put, the COG of the body is lowered by bending the knees so
that the player can avoid going out of the circle and thus committing
a foul.
 3. Location of the COG: The COG of a body must fall
within its base for equilibrium to exist.
 4. Horizontal Distance of the COG from the Direction
of Movement: Stability is directly proportional to the
horizontal distance of the COG from the edge of the
base towards the given direction of movement.
 5. Weight of the Body: Stability is directly proportional
to the weight of the body. We see high COG and
very less stability in a few movements in gymnastics
and other sports. an idea of how to hold positions and
stay balanced while performing; how to increase
their speed and minimise physical effort, etc
 Projectile in Sports

 When we throw an object near the surface of the

earth obliquely, it follows a curved path. Such a
particle is called projectile.

 Allprojectiles when thrown follow a curved or

parabolic path; this path is called projectile
trajectory.
 Factors Affecting Projectile Motion
 Angle of Projection: The range of a projectile motion depends on the angle of
projection. Range is the horizontal distance from the point of projection to where the
projectile hits the earth’s surface. A particular angle of projection corresponds to the
maximum range. When the projectile is projected at an angle of 45°, it will cover the
maximum range. An angle larger than 45° will cover a shorter distance, larger height and
have a longer time of flight. If an object is projected at 90° angle, it will come back to its
original position from where it is being projected.
 Projection Height Relevant to the Landing Surface: If the height in which the
particle has to be projected lies at the same level as the landing surface,
maximum range will occur at the angle of 45°. When the level of the landing
surface is lower, the angle should be projected with an angle less than 45°.
Alternately, when the level of the landing surface is higher, the angle should
be greater than 45°. The greater the height of projection, the larger the
distance travelled by the projectile.
 Initial Velocity: Initial velocity is the velocity with which the projectile is being
projected. The velocity of a projectile motion can be reduced into two
components: the horizontal component along the X-axis and the vertical
component along the Y-axis. The higher the initial velocity of the particle, the
greater is its range.
 Gravity: Gravity is the downward pull of the object
towards the center of earth. Gravitational force due to
earth is always attractive in nature. As discussed above,
the parabolic path of a projectile is a product of the
gravitational force acting on it. This force helps the
projectile to return to the surface of the earth. The greater
the mass of the object, the higher the gravitational pull will
be.

 Air Resistance: The effect of air resistance on the

projectile motion is small; it acts opposite to the direction
of flight. Another factor is the surface of the object. Rough
surfaces experience greater air resistance.
 Spin: Another factor which affects projectile motion is spin.
 One example of spin motion is the game of tennis. There
are three ways of hitting a tennis ball: flat (no spin), topspin
and backspin. Due to the spinning action, the amount of
drag experienced at the top of the ball is different from the
one at the bottom. The greater the amount of drag, the
greater will be the pressure. In the case of topspin, the top
part of the ball experiences higher pressure as compared to
the bottom and as air moves from the higher pressure to the
lower pressure region, the ball dips and topspin covers less
distance. In backspin, lower pressure is created at the top
of the ball, hence time of flight of the ball will be longer than
the topspin which results in a larger range.
 LEVERS
 Thelever is a type of machine. It is the human body’s
mechanism for movement, and although it may be
viewed as a part of the skeletal system, the role of the
muscles in supplying the necessary force for lever
action should be kept in mind.

 Definition
of a Lever A lever is “a rigid bar used to
overcome resistance when a force is applied.
 All lever systems are made up of
four components:

 the load
 the fulcrum
 the effort
 The lever
 The Fulcrum
It is the point at which the lever rotates or turns and
identifies the lever class by its position in relation to
the other two parts. In human movement, the
fulcrum is the joint that dictates the kind of action.
 The Force/Effort Arm
It is the point at which the force is applied.
 The Load/Resistance Arm
It is the point where the load or resistance is
located.
TYPES OF LEVERS
There are three types/classes of
levers:

First-ClassLever
Second Class Lever
Third Class Lever
A few examples of lever application in sports are:
 1. Cricket bat (3rd class) - The fulcrum is the top of the
handle, the load is the bat’s body, and the force is
closer to the neck of the handle.
 2. Kicking - Lower limb (3rd class) – The fulcrum at the
knee joint, force at tibial tuberosity, (attachment of the
quadriceps) load is the foot.
 3. Jumping - Plantar flexion of the foot (2nd class) – The
load is at the toes, the fulcrum is at the heel, and force is
your weight which is anterior to your heel.
 4. Looking up/down or side-to-side (1st class) - Your
head is balanced on your atlantooccipital joint, which
pivots, similarly to a see-saw.
THANKYOU
 Within “mechanics” there are two sub-fields of study.
1. One is statics which is the study of systems that are in a state of constant motion either at
rest (with no motion) or moving with a constant velocity; and
2. Second is dynamics, which is the study of systems in motion in which acceleration is
present, which may involve kinematics and kinetics.

 Kinematics is the study of the motion of bodies with respect to time, displacement, velocity,
and speed of movement either in a straight line or in a rotary direction.

 Kinetics is the study of the forces associated with motion, including forces causing motion
and forces resulting from motion.