Current issues in the mechanics of athletic activities. A position paper

This position paper reviews current research topics in the study of athletic activities, which biomechanisms would consider to be important or contentious issues, and focuses on critically evaluating what needs to be done in future research. It concludes that there remain many unresolved issues in the mechanics of athletic activities, many of which overlap with other disciplines. These issues relate to injury mechanisms, the control and co-ordination of movement, and ways of providing biomechanical feedback to enhance performance in athletic activities. Research to address these important issues will increasingly become more question than discipline orientated, must focus more on mechanisms than description, and will involve teams of researchers interacting on interdisciplinary problems. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.