Introduction to Biomechanics

Prepared By: Abiyou Semegnew

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Contents
 Introduction to biomechanics

 Area of specialization in biomechanics

 Anatomical reference position

 Overview of anatomical planes and directional terms

 Overview of musculoskeletal system

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What is biomechanics
The application of mechanics principles in the study of living
organisms
The branch of science that involves the principle of anatomy and
physics in the description and analysis of movement
The science concerned with the internal and external forces acting on
the human body and the effects produced by these forces

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Overview
Medicine Physics

Biology Engineering

Biomechanics

Statics Dynamics

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Sub-branches of biomechanics
 Statics
 Study of systems in constant motion without acceleration
(including zero motion)

 Dynamics
 Study of systems subject to acceleration

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Sub-branches of dynamics
 kinematics
 Study of the appearance or description of motion
 Displacement, velocity, acceleration , angular acceleration, ..

Kinetics
 Study of forces causing motion
 Force, moments, torque, power

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Purpose of biomechanics
Performance improvement
 Technique improvements
 Equipment improvements

Injury prevention and

rehabilitation
 Techniques to improve
function/reduce injuries
 Equipment to improve
function/reduce injuries
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Area of specialization
Developmental biomechanics : study the movement patterns and how
they change lifespan and varying disability
Biomechanics of exercise : to maximize the benefits of exercise and
reduce the chance of injuries.
Rehabilitation mechanics : study of the movement pattern of the people
who are injured or who have a disability.
Equipment design: increase in performance through the change of
equipment
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What is anatomical reference position?
Erect standing position

 Feet slightly separated and pointed forward

 Arms hanging relaxed at the sides

 Palms of hands facing forward

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Directional terms
 Superior : closer to the head

 Inferior : farther away from the head

Anterior : toward the front of the body

 posterior : toward the back of the body

Medial : toward the midline of the body

Lateral : away from the midline of the body

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Directional terms
Proximal : closer to the trunk

Distal : away from the trunk

Superficial : towards the surface of the body

Deep : inside the body away from the surface

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Reference planes
Sagittal plane – in which forward and backward movements occur

Frontal plane – in which lateral movements occur

Transverse plane – in which rotational movement occur

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Reference axes
Mediolateral axis – around which the rotations in the sagittal plane
occurs.
Anteroposterior axis – around which the rotations in the frontal
plane occurs.
Longitudinal/vertical axis – around which rotational movements
occur

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What movements occur in sagittal plane
Flexion – decreasing an angle of a joint
Extension – increasing the angle of a joint
Hyperextension
Dorsiflexion
Plantar flexion

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What movements occur in frontal plane
Abduction and adduction
Lateral flexion
Elevation & depression
Inversion & eversion
Radial and ulnar deviation

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What movements occur in frontal plane

Abduction Adduction

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What movements occur in transverse plane
Left and right rotation
Medial and lateral rotation
Supination and pronation
Horizontal abduction and adduction

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What movements occur in transverse plane

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Musculoskeletal overview
 musculoskeletal system used to
 Body support
 Protection of organs
 Body movement
 It consists of
 Bones, cartilages, joints, muscles and connecting tissues
(tendons and ligaments )

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Musculoskeletal overview
 Bones - 206 bons
 Framework of the body
 Mineral reservoir (calcium and phosphate homeostasis)
 Blood cells production
 Joints – connect bones to other bones
 Ligaments – join bones to bones
 Tendons – join muscle to bones
 Cartilages – padding between bones used to distribute stress
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Musculoskeletal overview
 muscles – actuators of the skeletal system
 Produce forces for motion
 Act in pair around joints in tension
 Joints – shapes of joint surface determine the possible motion
between bones
 Hinged joints (fingers, toes, elbows)
 Ball and socket joints (shoulders and hips)
 Saddle joints (knee, wrists)- two rotation axis
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Musculoskeletal overview
 muscles – it is attached between two bones
 Origin – stationary bone
 Insertion – bone that moves
 Antagonist pair of muscles
 Biceps Brachii - Triceps Brachii
 Deltoids (abduction)- pectoralis major (latissimus Dorsi)
 Trapezius – used to move scapul

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Musculoskeletal overview
 Antagonist pair of muscles
 Rectus abdominus - to move spine
 External abdominal oblique
 Gluteus maximus – iliopsos (flex hip joint)
 Biceps femoris (Hamstrings) (bend knee) – Quadriceps
 Gastrocnemus (ankle extend) – Tibialis anterior

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Musculoskeletal overview

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Musculoskeletal overview

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 Chapter One
Application of statics to biological systems

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Contents
 Review basic concepts of statics

 Fundamental Equations of statics

 Construction of free body diagram

 Explore problems in musculoskeletal mechanics

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Fundamental concepts
Scalars & Vectors
 Scalar: magnitude only
• E.g. mass, length, volume, density
 Vectors: both magnitude and direction
 E.g force, moment, velocity, acceleration

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Fundamental concepts
Velocity
 Rate of change of position (x) with respect to time (t)

𝑑𝑥
 V=
𝑑𝑡

 Acceleration
 Rate of change of velocity (v) with respect to time
𝑑𝑣
 V = = 𝑑2𝑥/𝑑𝑡2
𝑑𝑡
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Fundamental concepts
Angular velocity
 Rotation of an object through a given angle (ф)

𝑑ф
 ѡ=
𝑑𝑡

 Angular acceleration
 Rate of change of angular velocity
𝑑ѡ
 V = = 𝑑2ф/𝑑𝑡2
𝑑𝑡
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Fundamental concepts
 Mass
 Quantity of matter composing a body
 Represented by m
 Units are kg
 Force
 A push or a pull and characterized by magnitude and direction
 F = ma
 Unit is Newton (N)
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Fundamental concepts
 Torque
 The rotary effect of a force (the angular equivalent of force)
 It is the product of force and the perpendicular distance)
 Unit is N.m
 Center of gravity – center of mass
 The point around which a body’s weight is equally balanced in
all direction

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Fundamental concepts
 Weight
 The attraction force that the earth exerts on a body (m*g)
 Pressure
 Force per unit area over which the force acts (N/m2)
 Commonly used to describe force distribution within a fluid (blood
pressure or water pressure)
 Stress
 force per unit area over which the force act (commonly used to describe

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force distribution in solidIntroduction
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Fundamental concepts
 Volume
 Space occupied by a body
 Has three dimensions (width, height and depth) (m3)
 Density
 Mass per unit volume (kg/m3)

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Loads/forces on musculoskeletal
 Compression
 Pressing or squeezing force directed axially through body

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Loads/forces on musculoskeletal
 Tension
 Pulling or stretching force directed axially through the body

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Loads/forces on musculoskeletal
 Shear
 Force directed parallel to a surface

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Loads/forces on musculoskeletal
 bending
 Asymmetric loading that produces tension on one side of body’s
longitudinal axis and compression on the other side

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Loads/forces on musculoskeletal
 torsion
 Load producing twisting of a body around its longitudinal axis

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Effect of loads/forces on musculoskeletal
 deformation - change in shape

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Lever class
 Lever – mechanical device used to produce a turning motion around a fixed
point called an axis
Lever components
 Fulcrum – center or axis of rotation
 Force arm – distance from the fulcrum the point of application of the
force
 Resistance arm – distance from the fulcrum to the weight on which the
force is acting

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Lever class
 According to where the load and the effort are located with respect to fulcrum,
there are three types or classes of lever
I. First-class lever
II. Second-class lever
III. Third-class lever
• First-class – which has the fulcrum is between the weight and the force
applied. Triceps extension
• Second class – the fulcrum is at one end and force applied is on the other end
and the weight is in the middle
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of these two. Calf raise
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Lever class
• Third class – the fulcrum is at one end and force is applied in the middle and
the weight is on the other end. most common in the body bicep curl

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Newton’s law
• Newton’s first law: an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays
in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless a force
applied up on.
• Newton’s second law – a particle will have an acceleration proportional to a
nonzero resultant force.

• Newton’s third law - when one body exerts a force on the other body, the first
body experiences a force which is equal in magnitude in the opposite
direction of the force which is
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exerted
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Static of analysis joints
• Static analyses useful when
• No motion takes place
• At an instance of time during dynamic activity
• Complete static analysis
• Highly complicated to analyze all forces and moments in 3D
• Simplified techniques often utilized
• Limit analysis to a single plane

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Fundamental Equations of statics
• Statics implies equilibrium - no acceleration
• Sum of forces in all direction is zero

• Sum of moments in all directions is zero

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Free-body diagram
• Is a sketch that outlined shape of the body which shows all forces and
moments that the surrounding exerts on the body

Procedures for drawing FBD

1. Draw outlined shape – image the body to be isolated from its constraints
2. Show all forces and couple moments – identify all external forces and
couple moments that act on the body
3. Identify each loading and give dimensions

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Free-body diagram
• Replace muscles/ligaments with their forces
• Replace joints with joint reaction forces
• Include wight of the bones and objects at their center of mass
• Measure muscle insertion points and their angle
• State any assumptions (e.g internal forces between wrist bones not
represented, joints are frictionless ,ligaments are ignored etc.)

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Example 1
A person holds a 65 N weight in his hand. The bicep is attached 2.5cm from the
joint and the weigh is 36cm from the joint. Find the bicep force on the forearm
and the force acting at the joint. The weight of the forearm is 30N

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 Chapter Two
Application of Dynamics to Biological Systems

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Dynamic Analysis
• Study of motion of joints and body segments
• Sum of forces and moments therefore no longer equal to zero
• Newton’s Second Law:
• Linear
• ∑F = 𝑚𝑎 ( 𝑚 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠, 𝑎 = 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)
• Angular
• ∑M = I∝ (𝐼 = 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎, ∝ = 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)

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Forward and Inverse Dynamics

Forward Dynamics

Reverse Dynamics
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Inverse Dynamics
• Used for computing forces and/or moments of
force(torques) based on kinematics of the body
and the body’s inertial properties (mass and
moment of inertia)
• In practice, inverse dynamics computes these
internal moments and forces from
measurements of the motion of limbs and
external forces such as ground reaction forces.
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Calculation of internal forces requires
o Description of movement (kinematics)
o Anthropometric measurements
• Mass
• Length of segment
• Moment of inertia of the segment
• Location of segment center of mass
o Description of external forces

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Body segment parameters

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Body segment parameters

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Body segment parameters

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Body segment parameters

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Body segment parameters

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Calculation of intersegmental force and moments
o Newton’s second law of
motion : F = ma
o We compute moment M =
I∝ 𝑎
o Draw Freebody diagram of
each segment calculate the
unknown forces and moment

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Kinematic and ground reaction force

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Example
Imagine a runner’s foot at toe-off. The foot’s center of mass has a horizontal
acceleration of 4.67 m/s2 and a vertical acceleration of 2.87 m/s2. In addition, the
ankle has an angular acceleration of -30.48 rad/s2. if the foot has a mass of 1.56kg and
a moment of inertia of 0.0046 kgm2, calculate net joint force (NJF) Rax and Ray and
the Net Joint moment acting at the ankle. Calculate the net joint force and net joint
moment at the knee. Assume the mass of the shank is 5.68kg. The horizontal
acceleration of the shank at CM is 0.65 m/s2 and the vertical acceleration of the shank
at CM is 17.90 m/s2.

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Example
In addition the moment of inertia of the shank is measured as 0.0535kgm2 and the
angular acceleration of the knee is 54.248 rad/s2. calculate the net joint force and net
joint moment at the hip. Assume the mass of the thigh is 17.45 kg, the horizontal
acceleration of the thigh CM is 1.54 m/s2, and the vertical acceleration of the shank
CM is 34.35 m/s2. In addition, the moment of inertia of the thigh is measured as
0.2975 kgm2 and the angular acceleration of the hip is 44.512 rad/s2.

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Example

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The biomechanics of human skeletal articulations
Classification of Joints
 Synarthroses : (immovable)
 Sutures
 Amphiarthroses : (Slightly moveable)
 sternocostal joints
 Diarthroses or synovial : (freely movable joint)
 Shoulder joint
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The biomechanics of human skeletal articulations
Synovial joints
 Articular cartilage – a protective layer of dense white connective
tissues covering the articulating bone surfaces
 Articular capsule – a double-layer membrane that surrounds the
joint
 Synovial fluid – a clear slightly yellow liquid that provides
lubrication inside the articular capsule and act as shock absorber

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The biomechanics of human skeletal articulations
Synovial joints
 Ligaments – join bones to bones, restrict
movement
 Bursae – small capsules of filled with
synovial fluid that sit between bones,
and muscle or tendon
 Tendons – join muscle to bones, enables
movement
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The biomechanics of human skeletal articulations
 Biomechanics of Spine

 Biomechanics of Shoulder
 Biomechanics of Elbow

 Biomechanics of Hip

 Biomechanics of Knee

 Biomechanics of Ankle

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The biomechanics of Spine
Human Spine : Overview
 Function
• Protect spinal cord
• Provide mobility and stability to the trunk
• Absorb and transmit forces
• Provide tendon and ligament attachment sites

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The biomechanics of Spine
Organization
 24 movable vertebrae
• Cervical = 7
• Thoracic = 12
• Lumber = 5
 8 – 10 fused vertebrae
• Sacral = 5

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• Coccyx = 3 -5 Introduction to Biomechanics 72
 Spinal Curves
S shape structure
Curves allow spine to absorb shock
 Cervical spine and lumber spine –
C shape – Lordis
 Thoracic spine and Sacrum –
reversed C shape - Kyphosis

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 Vertebral landmark

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 The Lumber Spine
5 vertebrae
 Named superior to inferior.
o L1 = most superior, L5 = most
inferior
 Zygapophyseal joints
• Superior and inferior articulating
facets Plane synovial joints (joint
capsule present)
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 The Lumber Spine
Ligaments: passive stabilizer
 Anterior Longitudinal Ligament (ALL) – runs the length of
the spine anteriorly – restrict extension
 Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (PLL) – runs on the posterior
surface from the sacrum to C2 – restrict flexion
 Supraspinous Ligament – runs the length of the spine
posteriorly over the spinous processes – restrict flexion

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 The Lumber Spine
Ligaments:
 Intertransverse ligaments (ITL) – attach the transverse process of the
adjacent vertebrae
 Interspinous ligaments (ISL) – attach the spinous processes of adjacent
vertebrae
 Ligamentum flavum (LF) – originats bilaterally on the anterioinferior
aspect of the lamina of the superior vertebral body and inserts on the
posterosuperior aspect of the lamina of the inferior vertebra
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 The Lumber Spine

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 The Lumber Spine
 Nerve Roots
 Exit through the intervertebral foramen
 Responsible for motor and sensory
function
 Status of intervertebral disc and facet
joint has a direct impact on the health of
the nerve roots

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 The Lumber Spine
 Musculature
 Extensors
o Iliocostalis lumborum (most lateral ),
o longissimus lumborum (intermediate),
o spinalis (most medial ),
o multifidus (deep muscle where they
fill the grove between the transverse
and spinous processes )
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 The Lumber Spine
 Musculature
 Flexor
o Abdominal muscles,
psoas
 Rotators, extensors
 Multifidus, longissimus
 Lateral flexors
 Iliocostalis, quadratus
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 The Lumber Spine
 Osteokinematics
 Flexion & extension
 Motion greatest at lower segments L3 -5
 Lateral flexion
 Greatest at thoracolumbar junction and L3-5
 Rotation
 Roughly similar throughout

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 The Lumber Spine

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 The Lumber Spine
 Arthrokinematics
 Flexion
 Facet joints move apart (intervertebral foramen opens)
 Extension
 Facet joints come together (intervertebral foramen closes)
 Side bend and rotation
 left bend or rotation – left joints closes and right joints open

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 The Lumber Spine - Arthrokinematics

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 The Lumber Spine – Disc Herniation

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 The Lumber Spine – Spondylolisthesis

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 The Lumber Spine – Spinal Stenosis

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 The Thoracic Spine
 12 Vertebrae
12 ribs
 1 -7 = true ribs (attach directly to
sternum)
 8 -10 = false ribs (attach indirectly to
sternum)
 11 -12 = floating ribs (attach to vertebrae
only)
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 The Thoracic Spine : Joints
Facet Joints
Articulation with rib cage
 Anteriorly (little motion)
• Manubriosternal joints
• Xiphisternal Joints
 Posteriorly
• Costoverebral
• Costotransverse
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 The Thoracic Spine : Musculature
Flexors
 Abdominal, Psoas
 Extensors:
 Iliocostalis thoracis, longissimus thoracis, spinalis thoracis,
semispinalis thoracis
 Lateral flexors
 Iliocostalis thoracis, longissimus thoracis
 Rotators - Rotators thoracis, semispinalis thoracis
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 The Thoracic Spine : Ventilatory Muscles
Primary:
 Diaphragm, Intercostals, scalenes
 Secondary:
 Any muscle that attaches the rib cage to the shoulder girdle,
head or vertebral column
 Breathing
 Diaphragm = 70 – 80 % of inspiration action during quiet
breathing
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 The cervical spine:
Ligaments:
 Apical ligament: dens(C2) to occiput (vertical alignment)
 Alar ligament : dens(C2) to occiput (45 degree)
 Transverse ligament: atlas to atlas (holds dens against atlas)
 Anterior Longitudinal ligament
 Posterior longitudinal ligament etc

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 The cervical spine: Musculature
Flexors
 Rectus capitus anterior, scalenes,
longus capitis, longus colli
 Extensors
 Splenius cervicis, spinalis cervicis,
semispinalis cervicis
 Rotators
 Sternocleidomastoid, scalenes
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 Stress vs Strain
 vertebral body = primary resist
compression and shear loading
 vertebral endplate (0.5mm thickness) =
7500N force load it deflect up to 0.5mm and
vertebral body increase up to 3%
 intervertebral disk = hydrated proteoglycan
on nucleus and annulus can loss up to 10 to
15% of their water respectively.
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 Stress vs Strain
 The main role of facet joints is to limit excessive intervertebral shear
and torsion

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The biomechanics of shoulder
Shoulder Components : Overview
 Shoulder Gridle (Scapula,
clavicle and proximal
humerus) – stability and
mobility
 Glenohumeral joint – upper
extremity positioning

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Shoulder Girdle
 Scapula – a flat, triangular-shaped bone which is located in the upper
thoracic region on the dorsa surface and connect the humerus and
clavicle

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Shoulder Girdle
Anterior, posterior and side view of scapula
Acromion Acromion
Coracoid Coracoid
Supraspinous Process Superaglenoid
Process
fossa tubercle
Glenoid Cavity Spine Glenoid Cavity
Subscapular
fossa Infraglenoid
Infraspinous tubercle
fossa

Anterior view Posterior view Side view

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Scapula
Spine – spine like structure on the posterior or dorsal side of the scapula
 Supraspinous fossa – shallow concave like structure above the spine and
the origin of Supraspinatus muscle
Infraspinous fossa – shallow concave structure below the spine and the
origin of infraspinatus muscle and Teres muscle
Supraglenoid tubercle – a bump structure above the glenoid cavity which
is the attachment site of long leg of biceps brachialis

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Scapula
Subscapular fossa – a deep cavity on the front of the scapula to which
subscapularis muscle attaches
 Acromion – the highest bony process of the scapula and it is the
continuation of the scapular spine
Coracoid process – beak like structure on superior anterior portion to the
scapula
Glenoid fossa –pyriform articular surface which is located on the lateral
angle of the scapula
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Humerus

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Humerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the
elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the
radius and the ulna
The proximal humeral consists of rounded head, a narrow neck and two
short processes and the lower extremities (distal ) consists two
epicondyles, 2 processes (trochlea and capitulum ) and three fossae
(radial fossa, coronoid fossa and olecranon fossa)

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Humerus
Greater tubercle – a large posteriorly placed projection that is placed
laterally and it is where supraspinatus, infraspinatus and teres minor
muscles are attached.
Lesser tubercle – anterolaterally placed to the head of the humerus bone
and it provides the insertion to subscapularis muscle.
Intertubercular or bicipital groove – deep grove which a long tendon of
biceps brachii is attached

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Humerus
Capitulum – smooth, rounded eminence of the lateral portion which
articulate with cup shaped depression of the head of the radius.
Trochlea – the medial portion of the articular surface of the elbow joint
which articulates with trochlear notch of the ulna in the forearm.
Lateral epicondyle is a small, tuberculated eminence which give
attachment to collateral ligament, supinator and some extensor muscle
Medial epicondyle – large and more prominent than lateral , it gives
attachment to ulna collateralIntroduction
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ligament, pronator teres and flexer muscle
to Biomechanics 105
Shoulder joints
• Shoulder complex involves 3
physiological joints and one
floating joint
1. Glenohumeral (GH) joint
2. Acromioclavicular (AC) joint
3. Sternoclavicular (SC) joint
4. Scapulothoracic (ST) joint

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Glenohumeral (GH) joints
• Articulation between glenoid fossa and humeral head
• It is ball and socket joint and most mobile joint in the body
• Covered by hyaline cartilage
• Glenoid fossa is shallow and can contain only 1/3 the diameter of
the humeral head
• Stability is provided by articular cartilage, glenoid labrum, capsule
and musculature

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Glenohumeral (GH) joints
• Glenoid labrum – fibrocartilaginous rim that serves to increase
stability (provides 50% of overall GH depth)
• Ligaments – passive stablizer
• Superior, middle and inferior glenohumeral ligaments
• Coracohumeral ligament
• Transverse humeral ligaments
• Coracoacromial ligaments

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Dynamic musculature
• Intrinsic muscles : known as the scapulohumeral muscle groups ,
deeper muscles which originate from the scapula and/or the clavicle
and insert on the humerus
• Rotator cuff muscle (infraspinatus, teres minor, supraspinatus and
subscapularis ) and deltoid
• Extrinsic muscles – larger and more superficial muscles originate from
the thoracic and attach to the shoulder complex (latissimus dorsi, teres
major, pectoralis major, pectoralis
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minor, biceps, triceps)
Introduction to Biomechanics 109
Osteokinematics
• Flexion – anterior fibres of the deltoid, pectoris major and coracobrachialis
• Extension – carried out by latissimus dorsi and posterior fibers of deltoid
• Abduction – deltoid and supraspinatus (first 90 degree) and from 90 -180 degrees
it is trapezius and serratus anterior
• Adduction - pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, teres major and subscapularis
• Medial rotation – anterior fibres of the deltoid, teres major , subscapularis,
pectorialis major, and latissimus dorsi
• Lateral rotation – posterial fibres of the deltoid, infraspinatus and teres minor

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Coracoacromial Arch:
• Covers the humeral head and creates a
space for the subacromial bursa,
supraspinatus tendon and biceps
brachii long head tendon
• Protect blood vesicles and nerves
underneath
• Major site of pain in the upper
extremity
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Acromioclavicular joint
• The articulation between the acromion process of the scapula and the
lateral end of the clavicle .
• Plane type synovial joint
• There is no direct attachment of muscle to the joint
• All movement are passive and initiated by movement of other joints
• Osteokinematics
• Flexion/extension, Abduction/adduction, medial/lateral rotation

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Sternoclavicular joint
• The articulation of the manubrium of the sternum and the medial end
of the clavicle.
• It is a saddle type of synovial joint but function as a plane joint
• it accommodates a wide range of scapula movements and can be raised
to a 60 degree angle

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Scapulothoracic joint
• A physiological joint formed by an articulation of the anterior scapula
and the posterior thoracic rib cage.
• Premier example of dynamic stability in the human body
• There is no joint capsule and articulation
• It is musculotendinous in nature and is formed predominantly by the
trapezius, rhomboids and serratus anterior muscle

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Scapulothoracic joint
• Kinematics
• Elevation and Depression
• Protraction and retraction
• Upward and downward rotation
• Anterior and posterior Tipping/Tilting

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Scapulohumeral Rhythm
• Scapula, humerus and clavicle
moving together to achieve full arm
elevation
• 180 degree total motion
• 120 degree from glenohumeral
joint
• 60 degree from scapulothoracic

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joint Introduction to Biomechanics 116
Biomechanics of elbow
• Elbow
• Shortening and lengthening of arm for
positioning hand
• Provide stability for use of hand and
wrist
• Forearm
• Mobility through pronation/ supination

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to assist in positioning the hand
Introduction to Biomechanics 117
Biomechanics of elbow
• Uniaxial, diarthrodial hinge joint
• 1 degree freedom of motion (sagittal plane)
• Flexion and Extension
• Normal range of motion : 0 – 150 degree
• Joint articulations:
• Humeroulnar (Trochlea and Trochlear notch of Ulna)
• Humeroradial (Capitulum and radial head) – radius does not
participate with elbow motion until 90 degree flexion
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Biomechanics of elbow
• Elbow ligaments
• Radial collateral ligament – resist
varus force
• Ulnar collateral ligament –
resist/prevent valgus force
• Annular ligament – keep radius
head intact

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Biomechanics of elbow
• Muscles
• Biceps brachii muscle
• Coracobrachialis muscle
• Brachialis muscle
• Triceps brachii muscle

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Biomechanics of elbow
• Proximal and distal radioulnar joint
• Diarthrodial, uniaxial pivot joint
• 1 degree of freedom of motion (transverse plane)
• Supination : 0 -90 degree
• Pronation: 0 -80 degree
• Supination - supinator (lateral epicondyle) and biceps
• Pronation – pronator teres and pronator quadratus

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