Biomechanics studies how we walk and how we
sit, how we move, how we lift & the engineering forces that work in the
body.
For
kids...
For children, it can be as
simple as:
Do you carry your
backpack over your left or right shoulder (most of the
time)?
or:
Do you
cross your ankles underneath your desk?
Advanced
Athletes
It might assess how a runner's
foot hits the ground, or analyses a cricketer's bowling action, a golfer's swing, or 'judge' to see if a netballer really did move with the ball!
For
riders
For beginner horse riders, it
might analyse how the rider's position puts the horse on the forehand, or
makes the horse crooked, or for advanced riders how the rider is affecting
the horse's jumping line, or preventing bend in half pass.
Measurements can be taken to provide statistical analysis & recommendations
for even the most minute movement.
Teaching
The art of good teaching is to
find a way to
take complicated science and teach it in a fun way that everyone can
understand.
All
sports
We might study a video with a
weightlifter - watching again and again the timing of the 'clean & jerk'.
A team cyclist in the Tour de
France will spend a fortune on the latest
aerodynamic/equipment to shave down even a split second from their times.
A horse rider might use the
latest digital analysis to assess weight & balance in even the most advanced
movements.
But
it's not
just for humans...
Biomechanics does not only apply to humans, it
is also the scientific study of any living mechanical thing, such as a
greyhound, a race horse, or how a cheetah runs, even how a crocodile's might
work!
Riding
for Disabled & the Elderly...
Biomechanics works also in the
field of engineering, advising & researching on replacement limbs, or working with neurologists to start to get hands
& feet moving again.
A highly rewarding career
working with the
elderly, and helping out at Riding for Disabled.
A
bit of a laugh...
You cannot study any kind of
human movement, and also train the animals we have done in my family over the years not
to get a 'feel' for what animals are thinking.
And, it is so much fun to see it
in the human! I cannot recommend more highly
Alan Pease's books on body language as GREAT fun reading, but quite interesting for parents &
teachers looking at children's body language as well!
Science
For many years biomechanics in
its various forms has been offered as a subject within science degrees.
However it has now become such a broad
science, and now a large employer of people around the world that the need
for trained biomechanists has seen biomechanics degrees being offered at several
universities around the world.
Posture
Coaching
From the airline company wanting
their staff to have elegant posture, to the mining company ensuring safe
lifting practices - posture coaches & specialists help business & industry
around the world assessing occupational health and safety issues with
posture & lifting.
Sitting at desks for long
periods, carrying backpacks, hunched over laptops, even how airline staff
pick up the coffee pot! All are modern issues being addressed
biomechanics specialists in this new rapidly-growing science.
