Deck 2: Kinematic Concepts for Analyzing Human Motion

Question 1

Choose a familiar movement, and list aspects of the movement that are best observed from the side view, front view, rear view, and top view. Write a brief explanation of your choices.

Answer 1

The angle in which the knees and hips flex when a person vertically jumps is best observed from the side view. The angle in which the back bends and neck angled is best viewed from above. The rear view is the best view for determining pronation and supination of the hands. The front view and rear view are best for determining the abduction of the arms and legs.

Question 2

Select a familiar movement and identify the ways in which performance of that movement is affected by strength, flexibility, and coordination.

Answer 2

Strength, flexibility and coordination affects running in many ways. Increased strength of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles greatly increase the speed in which the knee flexes and extends. Increased strength of the gluteus muscles will increase the speed in which the hips extend, resulting in increased running speed. Increased flexibility will allow all running movements to increase in angle, thus increase the distance traveled per step. A flexible hamstring muscle will allow the leg to go into extension more quickly and thus increase the distance traveled per step. Increased coordination of the arms and legs greatly increase the speed at which a person can run. When the legs and arms closely mimic one another, the efficiency in which a person runs is increased. This efficiency allows a person to run faster.

Question 3

List the advantages and disadvantages of using a video camera as compared to the human eye for collecting observational data.

Answer 3

Video cameras can be very helpful in capturing biomechanical movements. Advantages of video cameras include the ability to slow the motion and take still frames of movements to track the trajectory of the movement. Also, multiple cameras allow multiple angles of the same biomechanical movement. A disadvantage of using a video camera is distortion of the movement if the performer acted too fast. The human eye can catch multiple angles of a movement that a single video camera could not.

Question 4

Using appropriate movement terminology, write a qualitative description of the performance of a maximal vertical jump. Your description should be sufficiently detailed that the reader can completely and accurately visualize the movement.

Question 5

Choose one of the instrumentation systems described and write a short paragraph explaining the way in which it might be used to study a question related to analysis of a human movement of interest to you.

Question 6

List three human movement patterns or skills that are best observed from a side view, from a front or rear view, and from a top view.

Question 7

Select a movement that occurs primarily in one of the three major reference planes. Qualitatively describe this movement in enough detail that the reader of your description can visualize the movement.

Question 8

Select a movement that is nonplanar and write a qualitative description of that movement sufficiently detailed to enable the reader of your description to picture the movement.

Question 9

List five movements that occur primarily in each of the three cardinal planes. The movements may be either sport skills or activities of daily living.

Question 10

Select a nonplanar movement of interest and list the protocol you would employ in analyzing that movement.

Question 11

Select a familiar animal. Does the animal move in the same major reference planes in which humans move? What are the major differences in the movement patterns of this animal and the movement patterns of humans?

Question 12

What special expectations, if any, should the analyst have of movement performances if the performer is an older adult? An elementary school-aged girl? A novice? An obese high school-aged boy?

Question 13

Select a familiar movement, and list the factors that contribute to skilled versus unskilled performance of that movement.

Question 14

What are the advantages and disadvantages of collecting observational data on a sport skill during a competitive event as opposed to a practice session?

Question 15

Test your observation skills by carefully observing the two photos shown on the top. List the differences that you are able to identify between these two photos.

Question 16

Select a movement with which you are familiar and list at least five questions that you, as a movement analyst, might ask the performer of the movement to gain additional knowledge about a performance.

Question 17

Choose a familiar movement, and list aspects of that movement that are best observed from close up, from 2 to 3 m away, and from reasonably far away. Write a brief explanation of your choices.

Question 18

List the auditory characteristics of five movements and explain in each case how these characteristics provide information about the nature of the movement performance.