Product Review

The Evolution of Biomechanics presents an overview of the origins of the subject, looks at current human movement theory and provides a fresh insight into the future of the theory of human movement. Biomechanics frames the human organism and its motion as mechanical in nature and is considered a respected benchmark of human motion, kinesiology and movement analysis. But is this relationship between a living organism and mechanical principles still relevant in context with our twenty first century understanding of science and the human body? Do we really move in an isolated link system as biomechanics suggests; or is it time to accept that the complexity of human motion cannot be reduced to the mechanistic approach?

Are you ready for the human movement theory revolution? The theory is not the practice. But by questioning the foundations of a subject many of us take for granted we stand a chance of evolving our understanding and coming up with a working model that will enhance many people’s understanding as well as their practice and results. There are many advanced practitioners of different methods in the international movement community but their practical work is not justified by the current biomechanical thinking. Often applied methods work practically in one way and then there is an attempt to use the old paradigm of movement scientific theory to justify their working. Although they get results, have high efficacy and their methods are highly respected within the practical arena, there is often a chasm between their practical work and the acceptance of science.

With a whole body approach, author and biomechanist Stephen Braybrook, aka The Movement Man, combines the insights of evolutionary biomechanics with his understanding of how the body really moves to draw a new road map of human movement that is integrated and intends to break free from the outdated models and ideologies that dictate the science of human movement.

Essentially, this book paves the way as a starting point of a new vision of the theory of human movement. It seeks to evolve our current thinking, models and ways of talking about, analysing and understanding human movement to fit in with our twenty first century scientific understanding. If we as movers, practitioners, therapists, movement scientists, coaches or rehabilitation experts do not believe that the ‘man as machine’ model is best serving our understanding of human movement then what realistic alternatives to biomechanics do we have available?