Biomechanical modelling for whole body motion using natural coordinates

The study of spatial human movements requires the development and use of a three-dimensional model. The model proposed here has 44 degrees-of-freedom and it is described using natural coordinates, which do not require an explicit definition of rotation coordinates. The biomechanical model consists of 16 anatomical segments composed of 33 rigid bodies. Joint actuators are introduced into equations of motion of the multibody model by means of kinematic driver constraints in order to reflect the effect of the muscle forces about each anatomical joint. After associating a Lagrange multiplier to each joint actuator, the torques that represent muscle forces become coupled with the biomechanical model through the Jacobian matrix of the underlying multibody system. The developed model is applied to identify net torques and reaction forces at the anatomical joints in application cases that include the take-off to aerial trajectories and standing backwards somersault.