Concept of Kinesiology and Biomechanics

Sports activities are good for health and everyone wants to stay fit, but comparatively few people know the logic and facts behind these fitness activities — the technical points that lie behind every movement. It is Biology and Physics that define these technicalities, and coaches and teachers have long put this knowledge to use to improve their athletes. Today, a sound knowledge of kinesiology and biomechanics plays a major role in identifying, designing and applying training programmes that bring out the best performance, giving teachers, coaches, doctors and sports professionals an advantage in their field.

How the two sciences relate

Kinesiology is the scholarly study of human movement, and biomechanics is one of the many academic sub-disciplines within kinesiology. In fact, biomechanics is often called the central part of kinesiology. Biomechanics in kinesiology involves two things: the precise description of human activity, and the analysis of the causes of human movement.

A simple way to hold the distinction:

• Kinesiology is the science of movement or the study of movement — it studies movement through anatomy and mechanics.
• Biomechanics is the analysis/study of forces — the application of the principles of physics and their effect on the human body.

Why it matters in practice …