Human Body Dynamics

Human Body Structure: Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments, and Bones.- Laws of Motion: Snowflakes, Airborne Balls, Pendulums.- Particles in Motion: Method of Lumped Masses and Jumping, Sit-Ups, Push-Ups.- Bodies in Planar Motion: Jumping, Diving, Push-Ups, Back Curls.- Statics: Tug-of-War, Weight Lifting, Trusses, Cables, Beams.- Internal Forces and the Human Body: Complexity of the Musculoskeletal System.- Impulse and Momentum: Impulsive Forces and Crash Mechanics.- Energy Transfers: In Pole Vaulting, Running, and Abdominal Workout.- Three-Dimensional Motion: Somersaults, Throwing, and Hitting Motions.

Human movement obeys basic laws that govern static and dynamic bodies, and this textbook takes a quantitative approach to studying human biomechanics. The book features numerous homework problems and worked examples, both of which are vital for classroom use. The book will be welcomed by teachers of engineering mechanics, statics and dynamics, and biomechanics courses that assume familiarity with calculus and vectors.

 From the reviews:

"This book represents a very ambitious undertaking of providing, in a single volume, a comprehensive exposition of the kinematics and dynamics governing the motion of the human body as well as a complete course of general mechanics. The author has been remarkably successful in achieving both objectives. He has produced a very accessible text without sacrificing the accuracy of arguments and avoiding undue simplifications of the problems. The book should prove to be a great value to the practitioners in orthopedics, sports medicine and bioengineering research. University students interested in careers in medicine or bioengineering may find it an interesting alternative to the standard courses in mechanics." Maciej P. Bieniek, Renwick Professor Emeritus of Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University

"Human Body Dynamics is a remarkable book. A concise, comprehensive, well-written and well-illustrated first chapter gives a necessary introduction to the anatomy of the human body. In the following chapters human body dynamics is explored using the principles of classical mechanics. The concluding chapter deals with the methods of three-dimensional mechanics. With these powerful tools, a myriad of very interesting problems are solved. This, I would say is the dessert of the feast." H. Buelent Atabek, Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering, Catholic University of America