DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

ME 281: Biomechanics of Movement

 

Experimental techniques to study human and animal movement including motion capture systems, EMG, force plates, medical imaging, and animation. The mechanical properties of muscle and tendon, and quantitative analysis of musculoskeletal geometry. Projects and demonstrations emphasize applications of mechanics in sports, orthopedics, and rehabilitation.

 

In this course I learned about different methods of measuring forces in the human body as well as methods of analyzing human motion. We were able to tour the Human Performance Lab as well as learn how to use OpenSim, a motion simulation software.

 

The final project was to research a biomechanics topic and design an experiment to test an aspect of this biomechanics topic. As a soccer player, I urged my team to research ACL injuries and to design an experiment to answer the question of whether or not ACL injuries are more likely to occur on artificial turf vs. natural grass fields.

 

We studied the relevant literature to find that not many tests have been done to actually investigate why many soccer players claim that artificial turf causes more injuries than natural grass. Ultimately, the goal of our proposed experiment would be to propose ACL prevention programs to athletes as well as a redesign of artificial turf and footwear to alleviate the issues. In the future, I would love to continue research in injury prevention.

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.