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| Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System | 
 enlarge | Author: Donald A. Neumann
Publisher: Mosby
Discount Category: Book
Selling Price: $78.95
Buy New: $63.72
Potential Savings: $15.23 (19%)
New (34) Used (21) from $53.69
Customer Ratings:  15 comments
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (pounds): 3.4
Dimensions (inch): 11.1 x 8.8 x 1
ISBN: 0815163495
Dewey Decimal Number: 612.76
EAN: 9780815163497
Publication Date: March 22, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Comments:
| Showing comments 11-15 of 15 | | « PREV | | |
Detailed, thorough, and well written December 19, 2005
7 out of 28 found this comment useful.
I used this book to get a better background in applied kinesiology principles to help me with my research into the body mechanics and kinesiology of the martial arts. I am a karate, kung fu, and kali/escrima teacher who has developed some ideas especially about punching and kicking techniques, so I thought I'd make a few comments on that, as this book was very helpful in discussing current theory and practice and helping me to sharpen my own ideas on the subject, especially in regard to the analysis of rapid-fire punching techniques.
There are several mechanisms that need to be discussed. The first thing is that rapid-fire punching requires instantaneously unloading the intrafusal muscle spindles by the use of contralateral inhibition of flexor-extensor pairs. This is a well-understood spinal cord reflex, and just means that muscle viscosity and normal muscle-tension dynamics are inhibited and optimized. In terms of the neural pathways, this is mediated by two nerve tracts, the neospinalthalamic and the paleospinalthalamic tracts, or the alpha and gamma motor efferent systems, respectively. But basically, in muscle kinesiology circles, this is known as a "plyometric jerk," and is one way that basketball players use to jump higher.
The second thing is that after the first punch, there are released massive shaking forces which propagate through the various musculo-skeletal systems in a quasi-resonant fashion which can be used to facilitate the acceleration and launch of the next punch in the sequence. These, as you might expect, are very difficult dynamics to control, being nonlinear in their behavior, but it is possible to re-sequence the muscles involved in such a punching series to take advantage of them. I have had some success in setting up "standing waves" to take advantage of this phenomenon. Standing wave may not be quite right, from a neuromuscular control standpoint, as it is perhaps more like stochastic resonance, since it can be shown that the muscle fibers use a process known as recruitment which is quite statistical mechanical in nature.
Third, the overall muscle mechanics of such a sequence must use a massive, avalanche-like, pulse-oriented "starting focus" to launch the technique, after which it essentially goes "ballistic" for most of the trajectory of the punch, until final termination when normal "ending focus" is applied. From a practical standpoint, this means the punches are bouncing off the endpoints of the punch, which are strongly focused, but with nothing much in the way of tension in-between. This method also eliminates the wasteful, continuous power-utilization curve that most even very experienced black belts use when they punch. This is okay for a one or two punch combo, but not for much beyond that, because this method of coordinating the muscles will impede the necessary fast switching constants that the nervous pathways require to make this work. The neural pathways involved in this are known as the alpha and gamma-motor efferent systems, and their workings are well understood by neurobiologists.
Well, I hope you didn't mind my fairly nerdy review. :-) And I hope you find this book and my comments about the kinesiology and neurology of karate techniques useful.
About as exceptional a book as one can hope for. November 17, 2005
9 out of 11 found this comment useful.
There is so much detail and information in this book helpful for any individual studying, or trying to apply into mechanical practice, that I don't even know where to begin. Hands down the best resouce for anyone interested in Kinesiology. You really need to check it out for yourself. I highly recommend this book.
Best Kinesiology Textbook for Joint Mechanics! November 16, 2003
64 out of 65 found this comment useful.
As an Instructor of Musculoskeletal anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology classes, Chiropractor, and author of books on the musculoskeletal system, I buy and read most every book published on the subject of kinesiology. Donald Neumann's book on Kinesiology is hands-down the absolute best kinesiology textbook out for joint mechanics. His book is clearly written in a straight-forward manner that makes it accessible to most anyone and yet it is also the most thorough book on this subject. Further, Elisabeth Rowan's illustrations are the best I have ever seen in a kinesiology text; they are sharp and clear, enabling 3-Dimensional movement to be easily visualized on a 2-Dimensional page. I believe that this book is a must for any student of the musculoskeletal system!
Good book about kinesiology June 10, 2003
3 out of 15 found this comment useful.
It`s a good book about kinesiology. Clear illustrations and table summary are available. Not only good for exams but also
good for myself.
Excels in explaining 3D motion on the 2D page July 14, 2002
24 out of 26 found this comment useful.
Very clear explanations of movement systems. The book is divided into regions of the body and a chapter on gait. The illustrations are excellent and help the reader to make connections between the body and outside and muscular forces acting on it. Highly recommended, esp. for those who took a kinesio course a while ago, and could use a good reference and refresher to apply to the clinic.
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