If you work in exercise or movement you may have heard of 'biomechanics'. But do you know what it means?

'Biomechanics' refers to the application of the laws of physics (or 'mechanics') to movement in living things. It is commonly applied to human movement and is often used by professional coaches, therapists, medics and athletes in a range of settings, including gyms, clinics and sports.

As a sub-discipline of both Sports Medicine, biomechanics is used to help identify, evaluate and select interventions for clinical problems. 'Qualitative' biomechanics refers to the subjective visual observation of motion. In most clinical settings, therapy and medical professionals will rely upon 'qualitative' biomechanical assessments to monitor performance and progress. Coaches and trainers will also use qualitative methods to analyse performance in athletes. This type of analysis is low cost in terms of time and resources.

However, biomechanics is also a sub-discipline of Sport and Exercise Science (the study of human movement). Biomechanical research is the study of human motion. Its purpose is to understand the effects of internal and external forces on quality of motion. As clinical, training and coaching professionals we often refer to studies of 'quantitative' biomechanics that are published in scientific journals to inform our assessments and interventions. In a controlled laboratory setting quantitative biomechanics can be used to collect objective measures of human motion. This enables a more detailed study of the qualities of motion. However, it is associated with a more costly outlay of time, knowledge and resources. Furthermore, research studies often only examine a narrow segment of the population and this limits how easily the findings can be applied in the real world.

It is critical for any therapist, coach or trainer to understand the strengths and limitations of each type of biomechanical assessment. In particular, it is important to be able to make meaningful interpretations when applying scientific information into real life performance and clinical scenarios.

This online workshop is suited to anyone with an interest in improving human movement - but in particular may be useful for those working in the field of exercise or performance.

Whether you are completely knew to the concept of biomechanics, or looking to refresh your knowledge, this workshop will help you to better understand some of the fundamental principles of biomechanics as well as its application.

The workshop will help you to:

• understand the meaning of the term 'biomechanics'
• tell the difference between the study of biomechanics, and its application to human motion
• identify problems in your work that could be resolved using biomechanics

The workshop will be 90 minutes in duration and will be held online via ZOOM.

Tickets: Available on a 'Pay what you can basis'. Pricing options include: £15 (original in-person workshop fee), £10, £5 or donation (only available on Eventbrite booking page). Attendees can add an optional donation to support the 'Pay-what you can' ticketing model , which is designed to reduce financial barriers to workshop attendance.

ABOUT MOVE WELL LEARNING

Move Well Learning offers a range of online workshops and courses for therapy and exercise professionals. You can find out more about these resources, as well as the Move Well Clinic and Fiona Higgs Ph.D.(Managing Director), at the Move Well Clinic website CLICK HERE.