Laboratory of Biomechanics and Physiology of the Exercise

The Laboratory of Biomechanics and Physiology of the Exercise is a new facility in the Department of Physiotherapy that replaces the former so-called Securities Hall. The laboratory’s fundamental goal is the analysis of human body motion, applying biomechanics in its most transversal sense within health sciences. This fact means that, although the laboratory is within the Department of Physicotherapy, it is an equipment that allows collaboration with other departments of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and, in general, other disciplines present at the Campus Sant Cugat. Accompanied to studies using biomechanical parameters, the laboratory also offers the possibility of studying human physiology through analysis of respiratory parameters.

The use of the Laboratory of Biomechanics and Physiology of Exercise has a direct impact on the quality of teaching and research. In relation to teaching, the laboratory is an innovative tool for the learning of undergraduate and master’s students, because it is an enormously useful resource in subjects such as Principles of Biophysics and Biomechanics applied to Physicotherapy, Sport Physicotherapy, Physicotherapy applied to Circulatory, Cardiac and Respiratory dysfunctions, and Physiotherapy Rating. On the other hand, the laboratory is a facility capable of hosting the development of different research projects by the different working groups of the Department of Physiotherapy. 

In order to fulfill the different research objectives, the laboratory allows the execution of different types of projects that are grouped together as follows:

• Portable equipment studies to be developed in different types of environments, such as work, sports, and residences, to name but a few examples.

• Studies with complex systems for motion analysis: kinematic analysis capability using camera system, dynamic analysis using force platforms and surface electromyogrphic analysis. These three systems are synchronized to offer maximum performance.
   
• Studies on exercise physiology, cardiorespiratory rehabilitation and human performance, using tools such as cardiopulmary exercise (CPET), pulmonary function and cardiac rate variability.