Biomechanics in Sport: Pivotal in Optimizing Performance

By Dr. Barry Shollenberger  |  10/10/2024

Applying biomechanics in sport can help coaches achieve optimum performance from their athletes. From basic biomechanical principles to Olympic-level technique, skill acquisition and development, coaches can guide players in developing the correct movements for a sport and avoid sports injuries.

Understanding Biomechanics in Sports

Biomechanical principles in sports are nothing more than the basic rules of mechanics and physics that lead to optimum movement of an athlete’s body.

Besides gravity and air resistance, there are many forces on earth that affect human movement, especially when an athlete using sport and exercise equipment. As a result, a knowledge of what these forces do in relation to athletic performance can be instrumental in raising the standard of performance in every sport.

Biomechanics in sport involves various concepts such as:

• Mass
• Weight
• Inertia
• Force plates
• Linear and angular motion
• Kinetic chain concepts
• Speed
• Velocity
• Acceleration

World-class athletes in all sports use superior technique based on biomechanical principles that control human movement. Their skills are developed and practiced over time until they can be performed without a second thought. Coaching is involved in all stages of these movements, from acquisition and development of skills to improving sports performance.

Many amateur athletes can benefit from observing accomplished athletes in their sport and imitating their body movement patterns. But for coaches, this type of skill acquisition should be combined with critical observation.

Errors in Sports Biomechanics Lead to the Development of Inferior Skills and Potential Injuries

Inefficient athletic movements not only lead to inferior sports skills but also could lead to serious injuries. Correct biomechanics are the key to optimum athletic positions and, by extension, to improved performance.

Biomechanical principles can be seen as the effects of energy and forces on the motion of physical objects. For coaching purposes, this definition includes human movement and optimum sport biomechanics. Good technique in sport is based on making the best use of sound biomechanical analytics and principles.

Balance and stability can be the key to optimum sport performance. The back-and-forth flow of maximum stability to a temporary minimum stability often defines how movements are performed by an athlete. An athlete constantly applies the forces of appropriate muscles to regain balance and stability.

For example, an Olympic gymnast on a balance beam may perform a routine involving turns, rolls, and handsprings using several upper body muscles. That athlete then uses lower-body muscles to land in a stable manner on a padded surface after a dismount.

Evaluating Athletic Performance with the Aid of Biomechanics

Coaches evaluate and improve an athlete’s skills through observation. For instance, a coach watches the athlete to gauge the athlete’s current skills and note possible errors involving sports biomechanics and the athlete’s technique.

A good plan is essential for this sports biomechanics evaluation. First, the coach should view the athlete’s entire skill set several times before zeroing in on suspected biomechanical errors. Next, the coach should try to observe a motion from several angles to determine the best vantage point.

Finally, any electronic aids should be fixed at the points that are best for recording the athlete’s movements. Slow-motion video can be a significant asset, because it allows movement to be recorded and replayed for a more effective evaluation. The coach can then communicate with the athlete to relay the areas of concern or faulty biomechanics. 

Sports biomechanics that need to be corrected should be divided into four primary stages:

• Preparatory movements (setup)
• Windup (backswing)
• Force-producing movements
• Follow-through 

Each phase should be addressed sequentially, highlighting the most egregious errors first. Dealing with the most obvious flaw first will prevent athletes from suffering “analysis paralysis” that occurs when multiple biomechanical principles are corrected simultaneously.

Newton’s Laws of Motion: How They Impact Sports Biomechanics and Athletic Performance 

For sound biomechanical techniques in human movement, an understanding of the basic Newtonian concepts of inertia, acceleration, and action/reaction is essential.

All athletes and objects have mass and inertia. Athletes use their muscles as the physical force to overcome inertia and perform skills. Just a few examples include throwing a football, hitting a pitch with a baseball bat, or jumping over a hurdle.

An athlete’s acceleration of his or her body parts is proportional to the force applied to movement. This law can be expressed as force = mass x acceleration.

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. Human athletic movements can involve acceleration, deceleration, or zero acceleration (either the athlete is motionless or moving at a uniform rate).

The forces that cause action and reaction are also essential to an understanding of preferred body movement technique. The physical force exerted by athletes can be expected to be met with a reaction that is equal in force and in the opposite direction. A good example of this physical force would be when a high jumper pushes down (plants) his lead foot, the ground pushes back with an equal but opposite force to propel the jumper upward.

Overcoming the universal forces of motion, gravity, friction, and air resistance are essential in completing most movements in sports. By utilizing correct biomechanical analysis, sports science professionals such as coaches or personal trainers can more easily see in what areas athletes need to improve their performance.

Continuing Professional Development Is Also Helpful in Sports Biomechanics and Enhanced Sports Performance

How does a coach determine the correct techniques for their athletes to optimize error-free performance? An often-questionable approach is to have players try to mimic world-class athletes with the hope that they will also perform at an elite athlete level. It is much better to break down the components of optimum performance enhancement and use them as teachable moments for athletes.

Determining the correct movement techniques needed to complete athletic skills is the crux of delivering error-free performance improvement by an athlete. To become skilled in the process, coaches must keep up with the latest research in their sport.

In addition, coaches should attend clinics, seminars, and workshops to remain up to date with the latest coaching technology and sports performance. Finally, coaches should access current technology in their sport to stay on the cutting edge of computer and video advances that relate to the biomechanics of human movement.

Sport-Specific Coaching Points for Skill Acquisition

There are many biomechanical terms that are related to coaching points to be shared with developing athletes. Some of these terms include:

• Balance
• Stability
• Base of support
• Center of gravity
• Angular and linear velocity
• Ground reaction force
• Torque

How these terms are utilized, however, is different for each sport. For instance, a baseball player and a football player can throw a ball to another player, but the sports equipment and the movements used by each player are different due to the sport.

Locker room walls are excellent places for charts, diagrams, images, and other instructional material demonstrating the correct performance of movement techniques related to a specific sport. Athletes can be constantly reminded of how they should perform certain skills correctly, and they will also find it easy to check on any new techniques to be perfected.

Full-length mirrors are also helpful when it comes to analyzing human motion. Mirrors can help aspiring athletes to easily watch their own movements, achieve better physical fitness, receive immediate feedback to improve performance and reduce injury risk.

Coaches should divide the athletic movements specific to a sport into separate components that can be performed safely, so that an athlete's flaws may be addressed with simple coaching cues relative to optimum skill acquisition. These components should be the most important ones in a sport and are the ones most often violated by players.

Sports science cues (coaching points) can be verbal and used in practice sessions or games. Care should be taken not to overload an athlete with too many cues to improve performance, especially in a competitive situation. This method is the safest way to ensure optimal body movements by athletes and ensure injury prevention.

Correcting Biomechanical Errors to Avoid Athletic Injuries

It is virtually impossible to devise a single method that works for the correction of all biomechanical errors committed by athletes in a particular sport. Coaches should always be mindful that an athlete’s initial attempts at skill improvement is best attempted at a low speed and minimum effort. This strategy will ensure that any injury caused by different human movements will not occur.

Some sports biomechanics lend themselves better than others for preventing accidental sports injuries sustained while attempting movement technique improvements. Spotting in gymnastics, for example, helps to protect athletes. At the same time, knowing that there is a spotter gives them confidence to explore the acquisition of new skills and improving their performance.

There are any rarely any athletes who avoid injuries. If these injuries are determined by a medical orthopedic to be caused by faulty biomechanics, then it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to make sure there is no recurrence of the injuries during and after rehabilitation efforts.

When previously injured athletes return to training, they should resume training by using fundamental human motion patterns before moving to more complex skills. The causes of the initial injury should always be considered to avoid any activities that might aggravate the athlete's well-being.

The steps of rehabilitation correction should begin with separating the faulty phase of the movement from the overall skill. The faulty phase should be broken down into its biomechanical components and specific exercises or activities designed to strengthen the athlete’s performance. 

Next, the skill should be performed and mastered slowly before the athlete attempts the complete skill at reduced speed. Finally, the athlete can then increase speed, duration, and effort, providing that the injury does not recur.

Sports and Health Sciences Degrees at AMU

For sports science professionals seeking to gain the knowledge to pursue coaching or personal training opportunities, American Military University (AMU) offers two degrees:

• An online bachelor’s degree in sports and health sciences
• An online master’s degree in sports and health sciences

Courses in these programs are taught by experienced health sciences professionals. These courses include topics such as:

• Human anatomy and physiology
• Sports psychology
• Sports first aid and safety
• Biomechanics
• Motor learning
• Nutrition for sports performance

For more information about these degree programs, visit AMU’s sports and health sciences program page.