This study examines the markedly low representation of women researchers in the field of biomechanics, focusing on the combined influences of educational environments, social expectations, and cultural factors. We review how early childhood experiences, including gendered toys and learning opportunities, stereotypes of mathematics and physics as male-oriented domains, tendencies toward disengagement from physical education, the burden of childcare and domestic responsibilities, and scarcity of visible role models collectively hinder career choices and research continuity among women. The analysis indicates that explanations based on innate ability differences are not supported by existing evidence. Furthermore, we highlight the presence of an interpretative bias, whereby male-dominant outcomes are more readily attributed to environmental factors, while female-dominant outcomes are more often explained in terms of innate characteristics. To address these issues, future efforts should focus on re-evaluating the educational roles of girls' schools and women's universities, strengthening research support systems, expanding research topics that address female-specific physical characteristics and life stages, and fostering collaboration with diverse fields beyond competitive sports. Increasing the participation of women researchers will not only revitalize academic societies but also broaden the scope of biomechanics research, serving as a key foundation for the sustainable development of the field.

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This short report examined kicking and supporting leg differences in quiet single-leg stance balance in elementary school soccer players and evaluated a sway-area proxy derived from smartphone video. Thirteen boys participated (middle grade: n=6; upper grade: n=7); all reported the right leg as their preferred kicking leg. Barefoot single-leg stance was performed three times for 20 s on each leg. Frontal-plane videos were analyzed with a motion-analysis application to estimate the center of mass (COM), and total path length (TPL) and bounding box area (axis-aligned rectangle area enclosing the COM trajectory) were calculated from the central 10 s and averaged across trials. A linear mixed model (Grade group × Stance) showed that bounding box area had significant main effects of stance (kicking>supporting; F(1,11)=18.525, p=0.001, ηp²=0.627) and grade (middle>upper; F(1,11)=8.708, p=0.013, ηp²=0.442), with no significant interaction (F(1,11)=2.698, p=0.129, ηp²=0.197). TPL showed no significant main effects or interaction (all p>0.05). These findings suggest that, in young soccer players, quiet single-leg stance asymmetry may be more evident in the spatial spread of sway (bounding box area) than in overall sway magnitude (TPL). Within the present measurement and analytic conditions, the AI-estimated COM measures may be useful for relative comparisons of stance-side asymmetry.

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This study aimed to investigate how differences in baseball bat grip types—flare (FLR) and straight (STR) grips—affect baseball batting, focusing on the risk of hamate bone fracture. Twenty-five male collegiate baseball players performed 50 tee-batting trials using each bat of the FLR and STR type. The motion capture system recorded the bat swing motion, and the net forces and torques acting on the bat grip during the bat swing were calculated using inverse dynamics. Compared with FLR, STR produced significantly larger negative torque around the bat swing axis at ball impact. Furthermore, the negative angular impulse of the torque was also significantly greater in STR than FLR. Significant differences in the force in the direction of the bat long axis at ball impact and the impulse of this force were not found. These findings indicate that STR generates a larger decelerating torque on the bat prior to impact, suggesting greater loading on the hand and wrist joint of the grip-end side. In contrast, no significant differences were found in bat swing variables. These results suggest that STR increases mechanical load on the hamate bone during the bat swing compared with FLR, offering biomechanical insight into potential injury mechanisms.

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