Unit 1 sports science

Axial skeleton

Skull, ribs, sternum, vertebra = typically for protection of internal organs

appendicular skeleton

all other bones = for movment and posture

Bone functions

Protect vital organs

Support and maintain posture

Attachment points for muscles

Mineral storage and release such as calcium and phosphorus

Blood cell production (haemopoiesis)

Energy storage (lipids in yellow marrow)

skull/cranium

protects brain, eyes, ear canals

vertebral column + function

7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacrum, 3 coccyx

strength increases from top to bottom

Strong and flexible

bends to allow for movement

S - supports head

T - transmits weight to legs

A - attachment points for ribs

M - movement

P - protects spinal cord

Rib cage

contains flat sternum (chest bone) and ribs which articulate to thoracic vertebra and some to the sternum (cartilaginous joints)

Upper limbs

Humerous, Radius (thumb), ulna, carpals, metacarpals (middle of hand), phalanges (fingers)

Pectoral gridle (where arms attach to axial skeleton)

clavicle = collarbone

scapula = shoulder blade

Pelvic gridle (where legs attach to axial skeleton)

ilium = top portion of each hip bone

ischium = curved bone makes up the base of each hip bone

pubis = front part of the hip bone

Lower limbs

Femur, tibia (forms shin), fibula (outer leg), patella, tarsals, metatarsals, phalanges

Superior and Inferior

S = up or above

I = down or below

Anterior n Posterior

A: front or farther forward

P: back or farther back

e,g. sternum is anterior to spine

Medial n lateral n intermediate

M = closer to midline (vertical)

L = sides, farther from midline

Inter = between 2 structures one of which is medial and one of which is lateral

e.g. sternum is medial to the shoulders

Distal n Proximal

D = Far or farther (to body center, vertical)

P = close or closer

External n internal

In = farther from surface, more inside

Ex = closer to the surface

Sagital axis

skewers you front and back

longitudinal axis

skewers you top and bottom

frontal axis

skewers you left to right

Sagital plane

divides the body into left and right halves

movement occurs on frontal axis

front and back movement

e.g. extension, flexion

Transverse plane

splits body into top and bottom

movement occurs on the longitudinal axis

rotaional movement

e.g. medial and lateral rotation

Frontal plane

split body into front and back

movment on saggital axis

side to side movement

e.g. abduction and adduction

Types of bones

flat = vital organs and provide a surface for muscle attachment. Sometimes they are curved, thick, or thin, and have large surface areas. (scapula, ribs, sternum)

short = often cube-shaped and articulate with multiple other bones. Short bones provide stability and support (carpals and tarsals)

long = support weight and help movement. cylindrical with widened ends where they articulate (femur, humuorus,

irregular = have specialized functions (face bone, vertebrae, radius, ulna)

Bone structure

- mix of protein (provide strength) and minerals (make bones hard)

- ends of bones are spongy and made of red marrow

- long section is hard and compact to support weight

- blood vessels transports nutrients through holes called foramen

Bone function

- Supports soft issues and provides attachment points for the tendons

- Protect internal organs from injury

- When muscles contract. They pull on bones to produce movement.

- Bone tissue stores several minerals, such as calcium.

- Within certain bones, a connective tissue called red bone marrow produces red blood cells

- Triglycerides stored in yellow bone marrow, found in long bones, are important energy reserve

Ligaments

- connective tissue that hold bones together, stabilizes joint

- connect bone to bone

- flexible to allow for bending and joint movement

- no elastic muscles (cant be stretched and if it stretches, take long to return back to og form = injury)

Fascia

surrounds and support muscles, organs (made up of fats, fibers, fluid)

commonly found in 3 main forms

- epimysium = covers muscle

- perimysium = covers bundles of muscle fibers

- endomysium = covers individual muscle fibers (cell)

Tendons

- When the fascia continues beyond the muscle, they become the tendon

Tendons connect muscle to bone

transmit the force generated by muscles to the bones, enabling movement of the skeleton.

Cartilage

A connective tissue that is more flexible than bone and that protects the ends of bones and keeps them from rubbing together.

Joint (articulations) types

Fibrous

- connected by dense connective tissue

- no movement (between skull)

Cartilaginous

- small amount of cartilage separating bones

- minimal movement (ribs/sternum)

Synovial

- most common and movable joints, characterized by a joint cavity filled with synovial fluid which reduces friction.

- (e.g., knee, shoulder).

Types of synovial joints

gliding - low amount of bone sliding tgth (between carpals, tarsals)

hinge - allows only movement in 1 plane (elbow, phalanges)

pivot - one rotate around another (radioulnar joints, alantoaxial)

condyloid - oval ball and socket (wrist, metacarpal)

saddle - allows movement in 2 directions (sternoclavicular)

ball and socket - most range of motion (shoulder, hip)

Agonist muscle

directly responsible for movement at the joint

shortens and pull on the bone to cause movement

the biceps act as the agonist, shortening (concentric contraction) to lift the weight.

Antagonistic muscle

a muscle that opposes the action of another

will relax/lengthen

the triceps are the antagonist, relaxing and lengthening to allow the bicep to contract, but they can also stabilize the movement when lowering the weight

fixator muscle

Muscle that functions as a joint stabilizer. (prevents unnecessary movement)

Muscle contraction (isotonic)

tensions devlops and movement occurs at the joint

concentric (agonist)

- tension develops, muscles shorten, causes joint movement

- (e.g. lifting dumbells)

eccentric (antagonist)

- tension develops muscle lengthens, controls joint movement

- (e.g. Lowering dumbells)

Muscle contraction (isometric)

tension develops but no movement occurs at joint

stops joint movement

e.g. plank, muscles remain the same length

Isokinetic contraction

the velocity of muscle contraction remains constant throughout movement

flexion, extension (sagittal plane)

Bending of a joint

Straightening of a joint

Abduction, adduction (frontal plane)

movement away from the body (karate kick)

moevment toward the body (bring leg back)

Medial rotation/lateral rotation

Rotation toward the midline (rotate hip joint to point toes inward)

rotation away from the midline (toes outward)

elevation/depression

Up and Down movements such as opening and closing ones mouth, shrugging shoulders etc.

Protraction/retraction

p = slouching (forward)

r = stand up straight

horizontal extension/flexion

ex = doing a pec fly

flex = bring arms together

dorisflection and plantarflexion

d = point foot towards shin

p = point foot down

Eversion and inversion of the foot

e = turn outward

i = turn inward

pronation/supination of forearm

p = palms face down/backward

s = face up

opposition and reposition (thumb)

opp = thumb touch fingertips

repo = return to normal position

Circumduction

circular movement of joints (thumbs, shoulder, hip)

ROM

range of motion

large rom = good as greater moevment, enables forces to be applied over distance

hypermoility = excessive ROM, problematic and leads to dislocations

DOMs and acute muscle soreness

delayed onset muscle soreness refers to muscle pain occuring after unfamiliar excercise.

Types of muscle

Smooth = involuntary, found around/in organs (intestines), no strips appears smooth

Cardiac = froms the walls of the heart chamber, involuntary, striped

Skeletal muscles = voluntary, moves arms and legs, recieves signals from concious brain via nervouse system, thin streaks

Muscle structure breakdown

Muscle = entire muscle, made of bundles

Fascicle = bundle of muscle fibers

Muscle fiber = muscle cell

myofibril = threads inside muscle fibers

myofilament = proteins (actin and myosin) inside myofibrils

sacromere = basic unit where contraction happens

muscels functions

Move bones (and thus move the body)

Transportation of substances (e,g. blood) within the body

Maintain body position

Generate body heat (up to 85%)

Properties of muscles

Contractibility:

Ability of the muscle to contract and generate force when it is stimulated by a nerve

Usually in pairs

Extensibility:

Ability of muscle to be stretched beyond its normal resting length

Elasticity:

Muscles ability to return to its original resting length after the stretch is removed.

Motor neurons

Role of a Motor Neuron: A motor neuron carries messages from the central nervous system to muscles, enabling movement.

How it Works:

The motor neuron has a cell body in the spinal cord.

Its axon extends out to the muscle, insulated by a myelin sheath to speed up impulses.

At the end, the neuron connects to muscle cells via a synapse.

The motor neuron releases neurotransmitters at the synapse, which the muscle cells recognize, causing them to contract.

Principle: The all-or-none principle means that when a motor neuron activates, it triggers all the muscle fibers it connects with to contract simultaneously, without selective activation.

Types of motor units

Type I:

- slow-twitch, slow to activate (as in force), small force, high endurance, slow oxidative (for walking)

Type IIa:

- fast twitch, fast oxidative, faster to activiate, some fatigue resistance (swimming, cycling)

Type IIx

- fast twitch, fast oxidative, fastest to activate, strongest, fatigue quickly (sprinting, jumping)

Hypertrophy and Atrophy

Hypertrophy - increase in size of body tissue/organ (like a muscle) Increase in size of muscle cells (fibers)

Transient hypertrophy is due to increase in fluid in muscles directly following a workout

Chronic hypertrophy is due to long term training.

Atrophy - decrease in size...due to disease, poor diet.

Parts of a Lever

Rod: The straight bar that moves.

Fulcrum: The pivot point of the lever (often a joint in biological levers).

Load Force: The weight or object being moved (body weight or an external object).

Effort Force: The force exerted by muscles to move the load.

Types of levers

1st class:

The fulcrum is positioned between the effort and the load.

Example: A seesaw or a pair of scissors.

2nd class

The load is positioned between the fulcrum and the effort.

Example: a wheel barrow

3rd class

The effort is applied between the fulcrum and the load.

Example: a pair of tweezers or bicep curl

Levers in the body

First-Class Lever: The fulcrum is between the effort and load. In the body, an example is the neck during head movement. The neck muscles apply effort on one side of the fulcrum (the neck joint), and the load is the weight of the head on the other side.

Example: Nodding your head.

Second-Class Lever: The load is between the effort and fulcrum. An example in the body is when standing on your toes. The ball of the foot acts as the fulcrum, the calf muscles provide the effort, and the body weight is the load.

Example: Calf raise.

Third-Class Lever: The effort is between the load and fulcrum. This is the most common lever in the body. An example is the arm during a bicep curl. The elbow joint is the fulcrum, the biceps provide the effort, and the weight in your hand is the load.

Example: Bicep curl.

Reciprocal inhibition

The simultaneous contraction of one muscle and the relaxation of its antagonist to allow movement to take place

Skill

a specific action that has to be learned

Types of skills

Motor - Emphasize movement, does not require much thinking (weightlifting)

Cognitive - Requires lots of thinking (chess, soccer)

Perceptual - using senses to make assessment 9rock climber assessing the rock before climbing)

Perceptual-motor assessment - applying correct movement following an interpretation (dribbling a ball to beat a defender)

Ability

is innate,

- Perceptual-motor abilities are awareness of the body during movement

- Motor abilities are the ability to use muscles in certain ways

Skill = Ability + application of technique

Learning Vs Performance

Learning - a change in performance because of practice or experience

Performance - a single occurrence that changes over time

Learning is measured through observations of performances

A single performance demonstrating success (or failure) may not be indicative of skill, but consistency is.

Transfer of learning

Negative- Learning in one context hinders performance in another. (baseball to golf bc swing technique is different)

Postive - Learning in one context helps performance in another. (e.g. badminton, hand eye coordination skills transfer to tennis)

Zero - Learning in one context has no effect on performance in another. (piano, and swimming)

Types of transfer of learning

Skill-to-Skill - Learning one skill helps in the learning of another similar skill. (Throwing ball into a javelin)

Practice to performance - Skills practiced in training are transferred to performance in a real game or competition.

(Batting a baseball against a pitting machine)

Abilities to skills - Natural abilities like balance or coordination aid in learning specific skills. (Improving dynamic strength to start races better)

Bilateral - Learning a skill on one side of the body improves the same skill on the other side) A soccer player learning to play with the weaker foot

Stage to stage - Skills learned in an earlier stage of development transfer to skills needed in a later stage.

From three on three basketball to full game

Principles to skills - Understanding the principles of a movement helps in the execution of specific skills.

From learning long levers aid in throwing to throwing a javelin

Linear vs non linear pedagogy

linear:

A structured, step-by-step approach to teaching motor skills. motor learning is seen as progressing in a predictable manner

(In basketball, learning how to dribble and finally adding obstacles)

non linear:

A more flexible, dynamic approach to teaching motor skills, where learning is viewed as an adaptive process influenced by interactions between the learner, the task, and the environment. (players are given different game scenarios where they must adapt their passing and positioning based on the situation.)

Sensory input and signal detection

sensory input: Athletes gather info through exteroceptors (vision, hearing) and interoceptors (balance, proprioception).

Signal detection: Athletes filter important signals from irrelevant noise. Detection depends on arousal and experience.

Errors: Low arousal can cause missing signals (error of omission); high arousal can lead to false detection (error of commission).

Memory:

Sensory Information Store (SIS): Holds all sensory info for 0.5 seconds.

Short-Term Memory (STM): Info lost in 10 seconds if not rehearsed. Capacity is limited.

Long-Term Memory (LTM): Unlimited storage, but retrieval can be difficult.

Selective Attention: Focuses on important info. Only what's focused on moves from STM to LTM.

Distractions: Can involuntarily shift attention.

Phases of Learning

Cognitive Phase: The learner focuses on understanding the skill and often makes mistakes.

Associative Phase: The learner begins to refine the skill through practice.

Autonomous Phase: The skill becomes automatic, requiring little conscious thought

single-channel theory + seletive attention

Selective attention-memory interaction

Single-channel theory – there is so much information being presented, we can only deal with one thing at a time. Some psychologists disagree, in that more than one piece can be focused on if they are dissimilar enough.

Selective attention – focusing on only important/relevant information. All sensory information enters the short term memory, but only information being focused on passes to long term memory

Distractions can involuntarily shift attention

Constraints-Led Approach

a key component of non-linear pedagogy

Definition: Motor learning results from interactions between the body, the mind, and the environment. It is not linear but rather dynamic and fluid.

Task Constraints: Adjusting the rules or task specifics (e.g., smaller playing area) can guide the learning process by encouraging athletes to find solutions and adapt their movement.

Environmental Constraints: Changing weather conditions, field surfaces, or altitude affect how athletes perform and adapt.

perception-action coupling + affordances

Definition: The direct link between what an athlete perceives in their environment and their immediate motor response.

Fast Processing: Athletes don't consciously think about every move but react to key information (e.g., the movement of an opponent or ball).

Example: In basketball, a player might perceive an opening in defense and immediately cut to the basket without needing to think about it.

Affordances: These are opportunities for action that arise from the environment.

Example: A gap in the defense in soccer offers an affordance for a forward to run through and attempt a goal.

motor programs (open-loop control, closed-loop control)

Motor Programs

Open-Loop Control: Movement is pre-programmed and cannot be altered during execution (e.g., a golf swing).

Closed-Loop Control: Movement is modified based on feedback received during the action (e.g., balancing on a beam).

Response time, reaction time, movement time, psychological refractory period

Response Time: The time from stimulus to completing a motor response. Includes:

Stimulus: A reason to start a response (e.g., whistle).

Reaction Time: Time to begin responding to a stimulus (includes reception, decision, and motor time).

Movement Time: Time from beginning to end of the response.

Response Time = Reaction Time + Movement Time.

Psychological Refractory Period (PRP): When a second stimulus occurs before fully processing the first, reaction time for the second stimulus is slower.

Example: A defender reacts slower to an offensive player's second move in basketball.

Concentration and Attention. Selective attention + divided attention

C: Ability to maintain clear focus during performance while ignoring distractions.

Selective attention: Awareness of specific environmental aspects (e.g., opponents, teammates) to prioritize relevant information.

Divided attenion: Ability to focus on multiple tasks or stimuli simultaneously.

Focus + situational + attentional flexibility

F: Specific point of attention (e.g., location of a ball).

Situtaional awarness: Understanding the game context (time, score, opponents).

Attentional flexibility: Adjusting focus based on situational demands, especially when time is not constrained.

Internal + External Distractors

Internal Distractors: Thoughts or feelings that divert focus.

External Distractors: Environmental factors that interfere with concentration

Five Building Blocks of Concentration

Decide to Concentrate: Make a conscious choice to focus.

Focus on One Thought: Limit thoughts to avoid overwhelm.

Do What You Are Thinking: Act on your focus.

Avoid Uncontrollable Factors: Don't fixate on things outside your control.

Focus on Outward Actions: Concentrate on actions rather than feelings.

Types of Attentional Focus

Broad: Attention to many aspects of the environment.

Narrow: Focus on one or two actions.

External: Focus on elements outside the body.

Internal: Focus on thoughts and feelings.

Arousal and Attentional Narrowing

Arousal: Level of physical and psychological activation.

High Arousal: Increases heart rate and muscle tension; beneficial for fast-paced activities.

Attentional Narrowing: Filtering out irrelevant information in response to high arousal, which can be both helpful and detrimental.

Attentional Focus and Motor Learning

Associative Focus: Concentration on relevant cues.

Dissociative Focus: Blocking distractions.

Skilled Performance: Requires effectiveness (accuracy, reliability) and efficiency (effort).

External Focus: Focus on outcomes rather than internal mechanics.

Open Skills: Benefit from adapting to unpredictable conditions by focusing on broader, distal goals.

schema recall theory

Aimed to include open and closed-loop control in motor programs with two memories for movement.

Recall Schema: Memory for initiating a movement.

Recognition Schema: Memory of how a movement feels and how to adjust it based on feedback.

Stored in the LTM, but transferred to STM for decision making

motion can be

Linear - in one dimensional (direction) space (someone running, a ball rolling)

Curvilinear - in two dimensional space, up/down AND forward/back (a ball thrown)

Angular - around an axis in a circular motion (a lever, or a gymnast on a bar)

General - some combination of linear and angular

Vector and scalar

V: a measurement with a size and direction (10 m/s north)

S: a measurement with a size but no direction (10 kg)

Position

measured with coordinates, a measure of distance from some origin along two or three axes (horizontal, vertical, lateral)

Distance vs Displacement

Distance:

how far an object has traveled

Path matters!

Symbol is typically "d"

Displacement change in position of an object

How far from the origin.

Path does not matter.

Symbol "s"

The fastest path back to origin.

Speed vs Velocity

Speed:

is the size of the velocity, but without direction (scalar)

Units are m/s or m s-1

Velocity:

Change in displacement over time with size and direction (vector) v= ∆s∆t

Units are m/s or m s-1

Acceleration

change in velocity over time with size and direction (vector)

Units are m/s/s or m s-2

(builds up momentum)

Angular kinematics

Deals with rotation around an axis (like a joint)

E.g. -

A flip turn in swimming

A golf club swinging

A dancer twirling

A cartwheel

Many joint movements (bicep curls for example)

Angular displacement (V)

The difference between start and end positions when a body moves around an axis with angular motion.

Symbol is θ (theta).

Measured in degrees (°) or radians.

Angular velocity (V)

The change of angular displacement over time

Is either degrees per second or radians per second

Symbol = "ω" (omega).

Measured in °/s, ° s-1, rad/s, or rad s-1.

Angular acceleration (V)

Change of angular velocity divided by time

Greek letter α, alpha.

Units are °/s/s, ° s-2, rad/s/s, or rad s-2

Instantaneous VS Average

I: refers to the measurements at any one point in time

A: Average refers to the overall measurement

Force

A push or pull

A mechanical interaction between 2 objects involving contact or no contact (as in force of gravity pulling it down)

E.g. throwing. Touching something

Resultant motion

The motion as a result of all the forces acting on an object.

Sum of the forces acting on it

Gravity

An attractive force between all objects with mass

Mass

The amount of material (usually measured in kg)

Weight

The effect of gravity on mass.

First law of motion

The law of inertia

An object will remain at rest or continue with constant velocity unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

Inertia is the resistance that will change

Soccer