Continuing the discourse on the contribution of biomechanics to understanding motor development: response to the commentaries

✍ Scribed by Jody L. Jensen; Thomas Korff

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 62 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1522-7227
• DOI: 10.1002/icd.421

✦ Synopsis

This article continues the exploration of the usefulness of the techniques of biomechanics to understand the processes of motor development and emerging motor control. In response to commentaries on Jensen (this issue), we reiterate the importance of theory in shaping developmental hypotheses while acknowledging the divergence of opinion on the relative merits of specific biomechanical analyses. Emerging from these discussions is a consensus on the power of the techniques of biomechanics to provide more than mere description and to illuminate mechanisms of developmental change. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

'. . .a discussion of the techniques of biomechanics in the study of motor development makes sense only in the context of our questions.' (Jensen, this issue)

The commentaries on the target article, The Puzzles of Motor Development (Jensen, 2005), are a rich demonstration of the statement above. There is broad agreement that the perspective from biomechanics, along with discipline-specific tools and methods, provides a rich source of description and explanation for expanding our understanding of motor development. Our colleague's commentaries have added significantly to the opening discussion of the appropriateness of approaching motor development from the perspective of biomechanics. Each commentary provides explicit examples about what we can learn by embracing