Biomechanics of Injury

Biomechanics of Injury, Third Edition, explains the biomechanical principles of injury and how injuries affect the normal function of human anatomy. With a clear, accessible writing style and nearly 400 full-color photos and anatomy illustrations, it guides readers through the mechanical concepts of injuries without a heavy emphasis on mathematics.

Previously titled Biomechanics of Musculoskeletal Injury, this third edition expands coverage of injuries beyond those of the musculoskeletal system to include the head, neck, and spine. Joining noted biomechanists Ronald Zernicke and William Whiting is concussion expert and athletic trainer Steven Broglio, who offers insights on head trauma and other neurological injuries. Unique in its evaluation of and appreciation for the intricacies of injury mechanisms, Biomechanics of Injury, Third Edition, comprehensively examines these issues:

• The mechanical aspects of injury and the concept of injury as a stimulus for beneficial tissue adaptations
• The effects of injury on the normal function of the human anatomy and joint mechanics
• Mechanical parameters such as force, stress and strain, stiffness, and elasticity and their application to tissue mechanics and injury
• How connective tissues respond to mechanical loading and how those tissues are studied to quantify their mechanical behavior
• Factors such as age, gender, nutrition, and exercise, with an emphasis on how lifestyle choices might lessen the chance or severity of injury
• How the principles of mechanical load and overload, use and overuse, level and progression of injury, and the many contributory factors involved in injury combine to form a backdrop for viewing specific injuries

Updated sidebars present a detailed analysis of anterior cruciate ligament injuries, rotator cuff pathologies, and concussion. In addition, the text discusses topics of current concern such as falls in older populations, throwing-related rotator cuff pathologies, and youth injuries from carrying backpacks.

Biomechanics of Injury, Third Edition, also employs learning aids to help readers understand and retain information. Objectives at the start of each chapter highlight the main concepts. Key terms appear in bold in the text and are defined in the glossary. Key Points at the end of each chapter summarize central concepts. Questions to Consider appear at the end of each chapter to test readers' understanding and ability to apply the information presented. Updated Suggested Readings are included at the end of each chapter for readers who wish to dive deeper into selected topics.

Knowledge of the biological responses of tissues to mechanical loading improves our understanding of injury and its consequences. Biomechanics of Injury, Third Edition, will enable students and health professionals to reduce the likelihood that clients, patients, or athletes will experience painful and debilitating physical injury.

Ronald F. Zernicke, PhD, DSc, is a professor at the University of Michigan's medical center (department of orthopedic surgery), school of kinesiology, and department of biomedical engineering. He is also the director of the University of Michigan Exercise & Sport Science Initiative.

Before moving to Ann Arbor in 2007, Zernicke was a professor and the chair of the department of kinesiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At the University of Calgary he was a professor for joint injury research (department of surgery, Cumming School of Medicine), the dean of kinesiology (1998-2005), and a professor of engineering. Zernicke was the executive director of the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute and served as director of the Alberta Provincial CIHR training program in bone and joint health, a combined graduate program of the University of Calgary and University of Alberta.

Zernicke has taught courses in biomechanics and injury mechanisms at the university level for more than 45 years. He received the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award as well as the City of Calgary Community Achievement Award in Education. He has authored more than 545 peer-reviewed research publications and two books, including the first two editions of this book, which received the Preeminent Scholarly Publication Award from California State University at Northridge (CSUN) in 2002.

Steven P. Broglio, PhD, is a professor of kinesiology and adjunct professor of neurology and of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Broglio completed his training at the University of Georgia, took his first faculty position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has been at the University of Michigan since 2011.

At Michigan, Broglio is the director of the Michigan Concussion Center and the NeuroTrauma Research Laboratory, where he oversees clinical care, educational outreach, and multidisciplinary research aimed at fundamental questions on concussion prevention, identification, diagnosis, management, and outcomes. His research has been supported by the National Athletic Trainers' Association Research and Education Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the Department of Defense. Broglio was awarded the Early Career Investigator Award by the International Brain Injury Association as well as the Early Career and Outstanding Research awards by the National Athletic Trainers' Association. He was awarded fellowship in the American College of Sports Medicine, National Athletic Trainers' Association, and National Academy of Kinesiology.

William C. Whiting, PhD, is a professor and codirector of the biomechanics laboratory in the department of kinesiology at California State University at Northridge (CSUN) and an adjunct professor in the department of physiological science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in biomechanics and human anatomy for more than 40 years. As an author and researcher, Whiting has written more than 60 research articles, abstracts, and book chapters as well as the book Dynamic Human Anatomy, Second Edition.