Biomecánica en el squash

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Department of Kinesiology
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The Biomechanics Laboratory of Indiana University is a unit within the Human Performance Laboratories of the Department of Kinesiology. It specializes in Sport Biomechanics. The primary objective of the Biomechanics Laboratory is to gain a better understanding of the cause-effect mechanisms of sports motions. The lab is equipped mainly for filmanalysis. Athletes are filmed in the course of their sport activities. The films taken by the cameras are projected, one photograph at a time, onto the surface of a digitizer. The digitized coordinates of body segmental landmarks are then sent through a terminal to files in the hard disk of a computer. Software is available for the calculation of two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinates fromthe digitized data. These coordinates can then be used as input for other computer programs which may calculate, among other parameters, center of mass location, angular momentum, and joint forces and torques associated with the activity being analyzed. Software is also available for graphics, on-screen animation and some forms of computer simulation. (If you are interested in Biomechanics, youmay want to read more about the research projects at the Biomechanics Laboratory.)
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Last updated: March 1996
URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~sportbm/laboratory.html
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Copyright 1996, The Trustees of Indiana University
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Jesus Dapena

RESEARCH

BIOMECHANICS OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE

The basis for the field of Biomechanics is that the laws of mechanics apply to living organisms just as well as they do to inanimate objects. The structural stresses of a tree, the swimming of a shark and the takeoff of a long jumper are all subject to the laws of mechanics in the same way asa square block of wood sliding down an inclined plane in the classical physics experiment.

Biomechanics is a diverse interdisciplinary field with branches in disciplines as varied as Zoology, Botany, Physical Anthropology, Orthopedics, Bioengineering and Human Performance. In all of these disciplines the general purpose of Biomechanics is the same: to understand the mechanicalcause-effect relationships that determine the motions of living organisms. However, within each discipline Biomechanics tries to solve problems specific to that discipline: In Zoology, Botany and Physical Anthropology the main goal is the understanding of the relationships between structure and function; in Orthopedics and Bioengineering the main focus is also on structure and function, but with a specialadded emphasis on practical applications, such as the development of prosthetic devices. In Human Performance, Biomechanics contributes to the description, explanation, and prediction of the mechanical aspects of human exercise, sport and play.
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Biomechanics research can be said to have two main facets within Human Performance: "basic science" and "applied science." In itsbasic science facet, Biomechanics tries to understand how the human body functions mechanically in a situation of maximum effort. When an athlete achieves a good performance, much of it depends on the fitness of the athlete (strength, quickness, endurance). But part of the value of the performance is also determined by the efficiency with which the body is used by the athlete. This efficiency can beimproved through the coordination of the motions of different body parts in ways that permit the exertion of larger forces by the muscles, more appropriate timing of stretch reflex mechanisms, longer ranges of motion of certain limbs, etc. Thus, the value of a performance depends on the fitness of the athlete, but also on the technique used. The main objective of the basic science facet of...