Abstract

The author has studied strength of materials and theory of elasticity through his undergraduate courses at the University of Iowa. He also conducted research work and earned a master’s degree in Biomechanics under Professor James Andrews. In 1970-1971, he used a combined spring and dashpot model to simulate the behaviors of human joints, bones, muscles, and tendons (which he took some related courses at School of Medicine at UI) in order to investigate the soldier-weapon biophysical interactions during the Vietnam war era. Later, he went to MIT to pursue his PhD study under Professor Norman Jones, who taught him theory of plasticity and dynamic plastic behaviors of various structure elements. To further his education, he took additional graduate courses in various fields of fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, bridge design using energy absorption pad, and soil mechanics under earthquake strike forces which deal with “time-dependency” issues. Since then, many advancements have been made in the biomechanics branch, especially with human body live tissues that possess certain viscoelastic characteristics, such as bones, muscles, cartilages, tendons (connect bone to muscle), ligaments (connect bone to bone), fascia, and skin. For example, the author suffered plantar fasciitis for many years. He understood that the night splint dorsiflexes forefoot, at the back of the foot, increases plantar fascia tension to offer stress-relief for the pain. This model where muscles and tendons connect the lower leg and foot is a form of viscoelastic study for medical problem solving.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call