Sports Biomechanics & Performance
This project spans the 3D kinematic analysis of sport-specific technique, the biomechanical design of sports equipment, and the epidemiology of sport-related injury.
Kinematic analysis of sport-specific technique, biomechanics-driven equipment design, and injury epidemiology in competitive and recreational sport.
Kinematic analysis of sport-specific technique
Working with Kostas Gianikellis at the Universidad de Extremadura, I used 3D kinematic analysis to characterize the motor patterns of padel — the forehand, backhand, and smash strokes — first presented at the 5th Congress of the Hellenic Society of Biomechanics (2012) and later re-presented at ISBS 2016 (Tsukuba, Japan). A related spatio-temporal analysis of three specific padel strokes (the wall-exit return, the “bandeja” overhead volley, and the “remate por tres” smash) was published in the Revista Andaluza de Medicina del Deporte (2015). The same 3D kinematic approach was applied to individual BMX gate-start technique, published in the Portuguese Journal of Sport Sciences and presented at the 29th International Conference on Biomechanics in Sports (ISBS 2011, Porto).
Biomechanics for equipment design and injury prevention
At the 3rd European Congress of Sport Traumatology (EFOST 2004), I presented on the application of sports biomechanics methodology — 3D photogrammetry, force plates, electronic insoles, and EMG, together with simulation techniques — to estimating mechanical loads on the locomotor system and to the ergonomic design of sports gear, with a focus on characterizing and optimizing the impact and friction properties of soccer footwear and playing surfaces to reduce musculoskeletal injury risk.
Injury epidemiology in youth sport
Earlier in my career, at the 8th International Congress on Physical Education and Sport (Komotini, 2000), I contributed to injury-epidemiology surveys of basketball and swimming athletes at the Democritus University of Thrace, characterizing injury incidence, timing, and anatomical location using purpose-built questionnaires across two- and four-year observation periods.
