The following article is about the discipline of exercise science. After a brief definition of the discipline, possible fields of treatment are discussed. Finally, diagnostic methods of the discipline are presented as examples.
What is exercise science?
Movement science studies movements of humans and other living organisms using scientific methods. Movement science investigates movements of humans and other living organisms using scientific methods. It examines all mechanisms that play a role in the learning and execution of a movement. Movements are complex and involve many structures in the organism. Therefore, movement science is an interdisciplinary field. Many subfields contribute together to the scientific progress of movement science. The different subfields can be divided into energy processing and information processing fields. Energy processing disciplines include functional anatomy and biomechanics. These disciplines investigate relationships and mechanisms in the human body, such as the interaction between muscles, ligaments and tendons. The information processing disciplines include psychomotor science and sports sociology. These disciplines explore how signals in the human body are processed and transmitted by sensory organs, nerve cells, and the brain. The various subfields of movement science perform important basic research, the findings of which are in turn applied in other disciplines or in rehabilitation, in the therapy of diseases.
Influence on treatment methods
The findings of exercise science can help explain the causes of diseases and injuries. Only then can effective therapies or preventive measures be developed to prevent disease. Anatomy and biomechanics study the behavior of muscles, ligaments, tendons, and other body tissues. The first step is to investigate how healthy tissue behaves under load and what forces act on individual body structures. Comparison with already diseased tissue can provide important insights into how and why the individual structures behave differently when diseased or how injuries have occurred. In this context, complaints of all joints (knee or shoulder problems), muscle complaints (muscle fiber tears, strains) and also diseases of the ligaments (tendonitis) can be part of movement science research. Infarcts, degenerative diseases (dementia) or strokes can make it difficult or impossible for a person to perform specific movements. Movement science can trace how it comes from the intention to the execution of an action through studies on healthy people. In patients, it is now possible to determine at which point in the motor program problems arise. Occupational therapy uses the findings of movement science to develop effective treatment concepts for each patient. Deficits in the motor program can be eliminated or compensated for through targeted training. For example, in coma patients, it is important to move the patient’s body regularly to maintain motor programs. After strokes, treadmill therapy can help alleviate motor symptoms. In addition, movement science researches diseases that can affect a person’s movements due to a disturbance in signal transmission in the body. These include Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. In Parkinson’s disease, there is a disturbance in dopamine production. This results in a lack of signal transmission and the sufferer exhibits severely slowed movements. Other diseases that can be studied by movement science are paraplegia or Huntington’s disease. Here, the focus is on the development of implants and prostheses. Damaged tissue is to be replaced or imitated by technical aids in order to make movements possible again for the diseased person. Restoration of injured tissue may also be the goal of therapy.
Examination methods
Diagnostic and examination methods are used in exercise science to determine the current status of a person, for example, in terms of performance or functional capacity.From this, measures for treatment or counseling of the affected person can be derived. Since exercise science is an interdisciplinary branch of research with many subfields, many different approaches exist in diagnostics. Possible diagnostic and examination methods include questioning people in interviews or questionnaires, physical examinations, movement observations, video analyses or the sports motor test. Movement observation is a qualitative diagnostic procedure. Here, the movements of a person (e.g. those of an athlete during training) are closely examined by a trained observer (usually the trainer). From the observation, conclusions can be drawn about the quality of the execution of the movement and the development of the technical skills. These findings can then be used to train specifically those movements in which there are still deficits. Movement observation can also be helpful when learning a movement or a sport, so that movements are executed correctly from the start and incorrect movements are not learned. A person’s gait can be examined on a treadmill with a fixed video camera. After knee injuries, the stability of the joint can be determined in this way. In the sports motor test, people are asked to perform specified movements under standardized conditions. This allows conclusions to be drawn about the person’s abilities and skills. The respective sport motor test must be adapted to the person to be tested when it is used (e.g. with regard to age and gender). In addition, the test should be as identical as possible to the movement about which a statement is to be made later. A complex movement cannot be accurately represented by the single test of a highly simplified movement. A simple reaction test is an example of a simple sport motor single test, in which only few complex movements are examined. In movement science diagnostics, it is also common to use procedures that examine forces and loads in different phases of a movement. In the case of a ski jumper, for example, it can be determined at which point of the jump the most force is exerted. The results of the examination can then be compared with calculated ideal values to improve jumping behavior in training.
