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Biomechanic Analysis

An Overview of Biomechanics

Biomechanics is a term that you must have heard if you have visited a physiotherapist, but you might need a clearer understanding of what role it plays in everyday life. Biomechanics is a scientific term that understands how and why your physical movement happens the way it does.

It is a study that shows the structures of biological organisms, from the most miniature plants to the largest of animals, and how they react to various external forces. 

 

In the context of human anatomy, biomechanics often refers to the study of how the skeletal and muscular systems work under different pressures and conditions. In real-life scenarios, biomechanics determine the best way for our physical movements. 

What is Biomechanical Analysis?

A biomechanical assessment critically analyzes your body and its moving parts. Your physical therapist will have a quick discussion with you regarding what pains or aches you have, your medical or injury history, and your objectives.

 While conducting a traditional biomechanical analysis, a physiotherapist leverages an observation test. Professionals use advanced technology and software to assess your physical movements and imbalances before they land bigger issues. Irrespective of what type of biomechanical analysis you run, the business objective is the same. The study helps you find imbalances and ailments before they lead to major problems. Your therapist will check your every move, including how you sit, stand, reach, twist, and do whatever your body needs to do to complete your everyday tasks, and creates a frame of your movement pattern.

 The assessment allows your physical therapist to assess which body parts and tissues move much and which parts have lesser movements, what is tight and what is loose, and which body part is weak and which is strong to draft an action plan for your care. 

What is Muscular Imbalance?

Muscle imbalance implies a muscle is stronger or weaker than it should be. It means a muscle works much harder than it should, as the surrounding muscles are substantially vulnerable. It results in the stronger muscles working harder to compensate for the weaker muscle lacuna, resulting in overuse injuries. 

A simple example of muscle imbalance resulting in damage is the knees. The knee is a complex body joint that is prone to overuse injury. Injury in the hamstring can result in heavy stress on the anterior cruciate ligament (the ligament runs through the middle of the knee). The high strain on the ACL can put you at a higher risk of a tear, which can take months to heal a tear, even if it is a minor one. It might also need surgery to attain complete recovery, which is complex and expensive. 

Therefore, the analysis is essential to understand how and why injuries occur. The assessments. Especially advanced tests measuring even minor damages are one of the most powerful methods to prevent injuries before they occur. The review is as necessary as the rehabilitation that follows. Usually, biomechanical evaluations need strength and conditioning professionals to analyze athletes performing sports.  

A basic example is lifting a heavy object. We often hear that we should lift a weight with our legs, not our back, but why? The reason is that squatting down and keeping the weight close to your body distributes the object’s weight more evenly through the spine and legs. If you bend forward and grab the object, you hold most of the weight at your lower back, forcing your back to work much harder to lift the same weight. 

What Can Biomechanical Assessment Detect?

1. Assessment of the muscular pressure and loading

2. Detect the best techniques for enhancing sports performance. 

3. Analysis of body loading to determine the most convenient or safest method for performing a particular sport or exercise

4. Try to heighten performance or lessen the injury risk in sports and exercise tasks.

5. Analysis of sports and exercise equipment

6. Determine if the movement is concentric, isometric, or eccentric. 

7. Attempts to determine where the most intense effort was felt within the range of motion around each joint. At times, facial grimaces or tense muscles help identify the peak points with intensity.

8. Assess the movement velocity in the range of motion’s early, middle, or late phases. It determines the time between frames to examine the movement over the time of activity. 

When to Get A Biomechanical Assessment?

1. Preventive medicine is cheaper than rehabilitation. It is a lot easier and more affordable than waiting for something to tear and having to pay an amount for hospital visits, surgery, medications, and rehabilitation. Spending 3-4 sessions on minor issues that do not cause pain is better.

2. The deficit in one of your body parts indicates a bigger problem in another area. For instance, tightness in the ankle or waist causes the body not to take the load very well. You must remember that a little tightness is not a big deal until it causes too much pressure on the hip, leading to overuse. Down the road, the patients might end up with arthritis or a tear in the hip. 

3. Most physical therapy treatment plans begin and end with a biomechanical assessment to track the patient’s progress and course of treatment, ultimately enabling the patient to achieve maximum mobility. It is easier to deal with a body part without pain or swelling. The injuries are easier to tackle when not dealing with pain or swelling. It allows the therapist to do whatever is needed without worrying about the patient’s pain. If you only want to understand how your body parts function as a system, a complete body biomechanical assessment is an ideal option. 

What to Expect from a Biomechanical Assessment

The only way for a physiotherapist to know how you move is to watch and assess how your body parts move. The patient must wear comfortable clothes and shoes. If you go for an assessment, you must answer the questions about your medical history and potential problems in specific body parts, including what your work setup looks like, how often you do exercise, what kind of problems you face, how many injuries you have in the past, the areas where you feel frequent pains. The points help to guide your physio in creating your rehab program, depending on your focus and need. Our medical experts treat you with the best biomechanical assessment to ensure solid precaution and a quick recovery. 

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