Muscles, Oh My!
How does our muscular system work?Copyright https://pixabay.com/en/man-male-boy-a-person-young-461195/
Students are introduced to how engineering closely relates to the field of biomechanics and how the muscular system produces human movement. They learn the importance of the muscular system in our daily lives, why it is important to be able to repair muscular injuries and how engineering helps us by creating things to benefit our muscular health, movement and repair.
Engineers must understand how the body works and, in particular, how muscles function in order to assist medical doctors in solving challenges with our muscular system. Biomedical engineers apply their engineering background to design devices to help restore muscle functionality through the use of prosthetics that attach to existing limbs or through the use of special machines to exercise muscles for strengthening and/or survival. Through biomechanics, engineers assess the physical capabilities and limitations of the muscular system, with the overall goal of improvement of health and quality of life.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Explain why biomedical engineers are interested in the muscular system.
- Name some devices biomedical engineers have created to aid the muscular system.
- Explain some specific injuries related to the muscular system.