OCCUPATIONAL BIO MECHANICS AND

NEUROMECHANICS

Bio-Mechanics:
Biomechanics is the application of mechanics to the study the structure, function, and motion of
mechanical parts of the biological systems at every level.

It can be used to study the structure of full-grown individuals to single cells, organs, and cell
organelles. Biomechanics is a subfield of biophysics concerned with the mechanics of living
things.

Need for Bio-Mechanics:-

The application of bio mechanics to human movement can be classifieied into two main areas

a) The Improvement of performance and

b) the reduction or treatment of injury

Definition : Bio-Mechanics is the study of mechanical laws relating the structure of human body

There are two main branches of Bio-Mechanics

a) Kinematics
b) Kinetics

Kinematics :-

Is the area of bio mechanics which describes the movement, without regarding the forces
producing the movement. Description of movement includes

 Type of movement
 Location of movement
 Direction of movement
 Magnitude of movement
 Rate or Duration of movement
Kinetics:-

Kinetics is the area of Bio-Mechanics which concentrate on the forces producing the movement
without regarding the description of movement.

Kinematics - Movement

Kinetics – Force producing the movement

Types of Movement (Motion)

There are four types of movement

Rotatory or Angular motion

Translatory or Linear motion

Gliding motion

Curvilinear motion
Contemporary biomechanics is a multidisciplinary field that combines physical
and engineering expertise with knowledge from the biological and medical sciences. There are
multiple specialty areas in biomechanics, such as

 cardiovascular biomechanics, 
 cell biomechanics, 
 human movement biomechanics (in particular orthopedic biomechanics), 
 occupational biomechanics, and 
 sport biomechanics.

As an example, sport biomechanics deals with performance improvement and injury prevention
in athletes.

In occupational biomechanics, biomechanical analysis is used to understand and optimize

mechanical interaction of workers with the environment.
Occupational Biomechanics
Definition: Occupational Biomechanics studies the mechanical laws in relation to the structure
and movement of living organisms as applied in the workplace. It combines the fields of
engineering mechanics, biology, physiology, and ergonomics.

Manual material handling include

 Push  Carry
 Pull  Squeeze
 Lift

The factors that determine above tasks are

 Physiological factors (How energy is generated in body)

 Psychological factors
 Bio Mechanics

25 % of all industrial injuries involve manual material handling. Large financial loss in
compensation costs , lost wages and lost productivity due to work related musculoskeletal
disorders .

Occupational biomechanics is a science concerned with the mechanical behavior of the

musculoskeletal system and component tissues when physical work is performed .

Occupational biomechanics combines scientific disciplines like

 Structure, material properties of musculoskeletal system

 Physics ( statics and Dynamics)

Musculoskeletal System:-
The skeleton works with muscles to produce movement, positioning and work

Functions:-

Support and Protect body

Maintain Posture

Produces body movement

Generate Heat and Maintain body temperature

Musculoskeletal system includes

o Connective tissues: Bones ,ligament, tendo , cartilage

o Muscles
o Joints : Unions of two or more bones

Muscle strength depends upon physiological, psychological and bio medical factors. Muscle
strength cannot be measured directly, have to be inferred by force or torque exerted.

E.g

Forearm flexion and extension

Average male worker : 276 N Female worker : 160 N

Torque production for average males is 14.1 N-M when turning a handle and 4.1 N-M when
turning a key

Worker safety measures

 Reduce the size , weight ,force

 Provide good handholds
 Keep load close to body, no twisting
 Minimize carrying distance
 Translate horizontally, not vertically
 Don’t lift anything that later must be lowered

Equipments to aid the workers

  Lift table
 Crane
 Gravity chute
 Fork lift trunk
 Work/Parts dispenser
 Rollers

ANTHROPOMETRY IN OCCUPATIONAL BIO MECHANICS

Anthropometry is the application of scientific physical measurement methods to human subjects

for the development of engineering standards and specific requirements and for the evaluation of
engineering drawings, mockups and manufactured product for the purposes of assuring
suitability of these products for the intended user population.

Benefits and Purpose:-

The main goal of anthropometry is

 To obtain data on measurements of human limbs that can describe the characteristics
(weight, volumes, comfort angles, reach capabilities, etc.) of a population

 To communicate data in a ready and easy form for engineers to use in making
comparisons or decision making

Anthropometric data is used for various purposes such as design

workplaces. Work tools/facilities, etc. to be obtained
sizes that are appropriate and appropriate to the dimensions of the size of the limbs
humans will use it.

Why Anthropometry?

Humans have variations in terms of shape, size, strength (strength) of the limbs they have
Variation can be caused by factors

Genetic and/or several factors as follows:

- Age
- Sex
- Culture (ethnic)
- Occupation
- Secular (historical) trends
- Environmental

Human Variability:-

Factors affecting Anthropometric data are

Age – Body dimensions begin to increase with age and then decrease around 40

Gender- Men are generally larger than women at any given percentile and body dimensions
except hips and thighs

Body Position – Posture affect size

Clothing – Clothing adds to body size plus restricts movement.

Measurement Method:-

Measurement of the physical form and function of the human body from head to toe
Size in the form of linear dimensions, linear, weight, range of movements, and so on

Measurements are classified in the form of

(1) Static/structural body dimensions (measurements taken when the body is in a fixed/static

position --- and standard, such as standing upright, sitting normally, etc.); and

(2) Dynamic/functional body dimensions (measured when the body is in position and functions

to carry out work movements dynamically when carrying out certain operational activities).
BODY SEGMENT PARAMENTERS

Length ,
Mass,
Volume
Center of Mass
Centre of Rotation
Moment of Inertia
DIRECT MEASURE:- Segment properties are determined directly from the participant. Only
possible with a cadaver specimen because each segment would need to be disconnected and
analyzed.

INDIRECT MEASURE:- Estimation of parameters is necessary for living participants. There are
numerous techniques to estimate these values

Body segment Parameter (BSP) Determination methods

 CADAVER STUDIES

 MATHEMATICAL MODELLING

 SCANNING/ IMAGING TECHNIQUES

Body Segment mass

As the total body mass increases, so does the mass of each individual segment. Therefore it is
possible to express the mass of each segment as a percentage of the total body mass.

Proximal = nearest point of attachment to limb or structure

Distal = Farthest away from attachment or origin

 MUSCLE STRENGTH EVALUATION

Muscular strength is the maximal force a muscle or a muscle group can exert during a contraction.

Factors related to muscle strength are:

 The size of the muscle fibers

 The ability of the nerves to activate the muscle fibers

TERMS RELATED TO MUSCLE STRENGTH

1. Power: The combination of muscular force and speed of movement.

2. ENDURANCE: The ability of the muscles to exert force against resistance
over a sustained period of time or repetitions is known as muscular
endurance.

MUSCLE STRENGTH TESTING

In muscle strength testing, we assess the muscular strength of patient as part of the objective
assessment.

PURPOSE:
 DIAGNOSTIC

 EXAMINE THE IMPROVEMENT OR DETERIORATION IN

A PATIENT’S STATUS OVER TIME
 DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF STRENGTH LOS

 DETERMINE THE NEED FOR COMPENSATORY MEASURES

 HELPS IN THE FORMATION OF A TREATMENT PLAN

METHODS
 Muscle strength can be assessed by a number of methods:

1. MECHANICALLY OR INSTRUMENTALLY

2. MANUALLY

MECHANICAL OR INSTRUMENTAL MUSCLE TESTING :-

In this the following devices are used to measure the strength

o CABLE TENSIOMETER
o STRAIN GAUGE

o HAND HELD DYNAMOMETER OR GRIP STRENGTH

DYNAMOMETER
o MODIFIED SPHYGMOMAMOMETER
o PINCH METER

CABLE TENSIOMETER
In cable tensiometer, two cables will be there in which one end of the cable is attached to some
fixed or stable object and the other end is attached to a limb segment. As the cable is pulled, it
presses the tensiometer’s bar which is connected to the gauge that measures in relative units.

STRAIN GAUGE
Strain gauges are made of electro conductive material. Strain gauge devices
are less often used for muscle evaluation.
 The basic system FDM-T consists of an integrated, calibrated measuring sensor. The
sensor strain gauge element itself consists of numerous high-quality capacitive force
sensors.
On a treading area of 150 x 50 cm the sensor unit can bear more than 5000 pressure /
force sensor .
HAND HELD DYNAMOMETER OR GRIP STRENGTH
DYNAMOMETER

Mainly used for measuring strength of the hand and forearm muscles.
Maximum grip strength is the measure of three trails.

MODIFIED SPHYGOMAMOMETER

 Inflate the cuff up to 20mmHg

 Then squeeze the cuff and note the readings

PINCH METER
This is used to assess strength of fingers.

a) TIP PINCH- thumb and index finger

b) LATERAL/KEY PINCH-thumb pad and lateral aspect of the index finger
c) PALMAR PINCH- thumb, index and middle finger

Average of 3 trials for each pinch position is taken.

MANUAL MUSCLE TESTING

Manual muscle testing is the most popular way to test strength. The therapist will push the
body parts in specific directions while the patient will resist the pressure.
The Oxford scale OR MRC Scale is commonly used by physiotherapists to manually assess
muscle strength.
According to the Oxford scale, muscle strength is graded 0 to 5. The grades are summarized
below:
0/5

A 0/5 score means that the patient is unable to create any visible or noticeable
contraction in a specific muscle. This occurs when a muscle is paralyzed, such as after
a stroke, spinal cord injury, or cervical or lumbar radiculopathy.

Sometimes pain can prevent a muscle from contracting at all.

1/5

A grade of 1/5 occurs when muscle contraction is noted but no movement occurs.
A small flicker of muscle contraction may be palpated, or felt, during testing.

2/5

This muscle-strength grade is assigned when the muscle can contract but cannot
move the body part fully against gravity. When gravity is reduced or eliminated
during a change in body position, the muscle is able to move the body part through
its full range of motion.

3/5
A 3/5 grade means that the patient is able to fully contract the muscle and move the body part
through its full range of motion against the force of gravity.
But when resistance is applied, the muscle is unable to maintain the contraction.

4/5

A 4/5 grade indicates that the muscle is able to contract and provide some resistance, but when
the therapist presses on the body part with maximum force, the muscle is unable to maintain the
contraction.

5/5

This means the muscle is functioning normally and is able to maintain its position even when
maximum resistance is applied.

Occasionally the therapist may grade the muscle strength in half increments, using the + or -
sign. The use of these incremental grades is subjective, which makes them unreliable.
 0 0 No visible or palpable contraction

Trace I 1 Visible or palpable contraction (No ROM)

Poor- 2- Partial ROM, gravity eliminated

Poor II 2 Full ROM, gravity eliminated

Poor+ 2+ Gravity eliminated/slight resistance or < 1/2 range against gravity

Fair- 3- > 1/2 but < Full ROM, against gravity

Fair III 3 Full ROM against gravity

Fair+ 3+ Full ROM against gravity, slight resistance

Good- 4- Full ROM against gravity, mild resistance

Good IV 4 Full ROM against gravity, moderate resistance

Good+ 4+ Full ROM against gravity, almost full resistance

Normal V Normal, maximal resistance

RESISTED ISOMETRIC CONTRACTION

Isometric muscle testing is commonly performed by therapists to test the strength and determine
whether an injury or illness has affected it. It can be used test the strength and determine
whether the workout routine is effectively helping you to get stronger.

Steps to perform resisted isometric movements:

1. The joint is placed in a neutral or resting position.

2. Then the patient is asked to perform strong isometric contraction, not to move the part
and the therapist will resist with almost equal amount of force to prevent any movement
from occurring and also to ensure the patient exerts maximum force.

After the movements are performed, the therapist determines the contractile tissue affected by
judging the degree of pain and strength in contraction.
4 classic patterns according to pain and strength are:

1. STRONG AND PAINFREE

There is no lesion in the contractile tissue (muscle as well as
nerve supplying)

2. STRONG AND PAINFUL There is a local lesion

of muscle or tendon. Muscle strain may be possible.

3. WEAK AND PAINFUL

Seen in severe lesion of muscle or tendon. Muscle strain may be possible.

4. WEAK AND PAINFREE Indicates complete rupture of muscle,

tendon or involvement of peripheral nerve root supplying that muscle.