Kinesiology comes from the Greek words kinesis (movement) and logos (to study/discourse) — literally, the study of movement. It is the scholarly study of human movement and muscular function, drawing on biomechanics, anatomy, physiology and neuroscience, and views the human body as a machine that functions in a purposeful way. Because it addresses physiological, mechanical and psychological mechanisms together, kinesiology (also called human kinetics) is applied across strength and coordination training, sports psychology, physical and occupational therapy, and sport and exercise generally.
Scholars have defined kinesiology in slightly different but complementary ways. One definition states that kinesiology refers to the whole scholarly area of human movement study, while biomechanics — one of its many sub-disciplines — is specifically the study of motion and its causes in living things. Rasch and Burke (1978) trace the word to the Greek Kinesin (to move) and logos (to discourse); Burke (1977) frames it as the study of the movement behaviour of all living organisms. Aristotle (384-322 BC) is regarded as the 'father of kinesiology' for being the first to analyse and describe the complex process of walking, and for concepts of leverage, gravity and motion that anticipated Newton's later laws.
Kinesiology matters to sport in at least thirteen concrete ways: it lets coaches analyse human motion and improve motor skills; its anatomic grounding helps prevent injuries and guides rehabilitation and corrective exercise; it ensures movements are economical and effective; it underlies the design of exercise, conditioning and fundamental-movement teaching; it lets a performer achieve self-realization about their own technique; and it benefits physiotherapists and physical-medicine professionals by letting them design movement that is safe, effective and efficient.
Because biomechanics is described as the 'central part' of kinesiology, the two are always taught together — kinesiology is the broad scholarly umbrella (anatomy + mechanics), while biomechanics (its own concept) narrows in on the forces and physics specifically. Every question on the meaning, definitions, or 13 importance-points of kinesiology in this chapter draws directly on this concept.